A S Potter and the Haunted Tower
by HappyAuriga
Summary: JKR said that little Albus Severus was the one child she'd find interesting to write a story about. I agree.
1. The adventure begins

Author's note: This is one of my novel length stories. The story is finished on my computer and was previously published on HPANA. I want to use the repost to go over it again. Therefore, I will not post the whole thing in one go but little by little according to how much time I have at hand. Nevertheless, the wait between chapters shouldn't be very long. I like getting things done.

So, here is the story. Reviews are appreciated and usually make me work faster.

**A. S. Potter and the Haunted Tower**

**Year One**

As the train went around a bend, Al lost sight of his parents and little sister. He sighed. He wouldn´t see them again before Christmas. Never before had he been seperated from his family for so long. Of course his big brother, James, was going to Hogwarts, too. It was a bit of comfort to know he´d be nearby, although Al knew he wasn´t going to see too much of him. Al didn´t want to be known as his big brother´s sidekick. His uncles had warned him to find his own friends, his own place within the school and his uncles must know after all. They had been six. Al smiled when he thought about his uncles, whom he loved dearly, though he never had known one of them, Fred. Fred, who had been the bravest and funniest and best of them all, as he had been told.

With a sigh the boy stepped back from the window and went to find himself a seat not in his brother´s compartement. Of course he could sit with his cousin Rose, who was starting at Hogwarts, too, but sitting with girls wasn´t too tempting. Slowly he stepped along the corridor, peeking into compartements as he passed them. Were there no first year boys on this train? Seemingly not, at least none, who weren´t gathered in full compartements.

At last Al gave up and sat in an empty compartement. This was not how he had imagined things to go. He was supposed to find friends! And now he was going to spend the journey lonely in his compartement. He stiffled a sob. How very much in character for him to stay alone on a train full of children. He never had made friends as easily as his big brother. James was a very open-hearted boy, who made friends easily. He, Albus, was shy. Maybe this was because he was ill quite often when he was younger. He had spent some time alone in his room while other children socialized. Making contact with others came hard to him.

Al started when the compartment door slid open.

"Is this seat taken?" asked a small voice.

"No, do come in," Al replied happily and turned from the window to greet the newcomer. His smile froze when he recognized the blond boy his uncle Ron had called Scorpius.

The boy´s features hardened when Al´s smile disappeared. "I take it the seat is taken on second thought," the child sounded bitter. In fact, he sounded as sad as Al felt.

"No," Al hurried to say. "It is not. Do sit down."

The pale boy´s eyes went wide, but he sat.

"I´m Scorpius Malfoy," he said and offered his hand.

Al took it. "Albus Potter," he introduced himself with a shy smile.

"Potter?" Scorpius´ eyes went even wider, if it was possible. "Like HARRY Potter?"

Al was taken aback. "My dad´s called Harry."

"Woah!" Scorpius scrutinized him with newly found admiration. "You must be kidding! You´re HARRY POTTER´s son?"

Al nodded shyly, but said nothing.

For a while the two boys traveled in silence. It was Scorpius, who broke it at last.

"Was that your dad, on the platform?"

"Yes." Al was a bit irritated. What was all that talking about his father about? Strange. First people stared at them at the station and then this boy was asking funny questions.

"I´m sorry," said the blond boy after a while.

"What for?"

"For pestering you. You obviously don´t want to talk to me and I keep asking questions. I didn´t mean to bother you."

"You aren´t bothering me," Al replied softly. "It´s just . . . I don´t understand."

"Understand what?"

"Your talking about my dad. And you feeling like you´re bothering me."

It was Scorpius´ turn to look puzzled. "Don´t tell me you don´t know!"

"Don´t know what?"

"Your dad´s a war hero and," Scorpius lowered his eyes in shame, "mine fought on the wrong side. That´s why nobody wanted me in their compartement. I´ll go. You´ll not want me here either, now you know."

The blond boy got up and opened the door.

Al watched in horror as the one person, who´d talk to him, prepared to leave.

"Stay!" He nearly shouted it.

Scorpius turned slowly and a bright smile enlightened his face. "Really?"

"Really."

The blond returned to his seat. Again they remained silent for a while, but this time they smiled at each other and the silence was companionable, not awkward.

"So what is this with my dad being a war hero?"

-x-

Al spent the next hours listening breathlessly to Scorpius telling him how their dads had fought in The War and Harry Potter had killed the Evil Wizard and become a hero, while Draco Malfoy had fought for the other side and had – despite the family´s wealth – ended up as kind of an outcast of wizarding society. The Malfoys were rich, but they were not trusted and lived rather withdrawn from the public at Malfoy Manor. With the Evil Wizard gone, money could buy neither respect nor fear.

Al wondered, why Scorpius told about his family´s past so openly and at last he dared ask the question.

"Dad says," the boy answered, "that people are even more angry when they find out later. Better tell them in the beginning, so they can choose whether they want anything to do with you. Will you?"

Al didn´t need to think about that. "Of course! You didn´t fight in The War, neither for one side, nor for the other. You aren´t responsible for what happened before you were born."

Scorpius grinned. "Are you sure you didn´t know about your dad? He keeps saying that in his speeches."

Al was taken aback. Speeches? His dad? His dad got nervous when he was supposed to make a speech at Gran Molly´s birthday party!

-x-

James had told his little brother about Hogwarts, how he had arrived at the station and travelled by boat over the lake to the castle with Hagrid. Nevertheless Al was lost for words when he first saw the castle.

He and Scorpius sat in Hagrid´s boat with Rose. The girl managed to look pleased and annoyed at the same time. Al understood. On one hand, being invited into the boat by Hagrid himself was quite cool, on the other hand, being separated from her newly found friends wasn't. He himself´d be very unhappy, if Hagrid hadn't helped Scorpius into the boat right after Al.

The lake was smooth like glass. The castle's many lights were reflected perfectly and so the children saw the school twice as they approached the shore. Al was glad the water was calm. He'd dreaded travelling a rough lake. He remembered when their parents had taken the family to France and his father had insisted on taking the ferry, because he thought that Lily was too small to apparate. Al had been seasick all the time.

When they finally arrived at the castle, Hagrid left them with Uncle Neville – Professor Longbottom, Al had to remember that. The professor welcomed them warmly and explained about the four Hogwarts houses. Then they were led into the Great Hall and towards the Head Table, where the headmistress greeted them with a smile.

Professor Longbottom brought a three legged stool and a very old wizard's hat, which burst into song shortly after it had been placed on the stool. The hat advised the listeners to stand united and never forget what happened at Hogwarts. Al wondered what it was that had happened at Hogwarts. Was the hat referring to dad killing the Evil Wizard? Al had hardly believed it, when Scorpius had told him about the Battle of Hogwarts, how Al´s dad had saved Scorpius´ dad´s life and how Scorpius´ gran had saved Al´s dad´s.

The boy started when Professor Longbottom started to read out names from a long scroll and one by one the first years stepped to the stool and put on the Sorting Hat.

Scorpius was sorted into Slytherin, which was no surprise. The blond boy had said on the train that all his family had been in Slytherin for centuries.

Al was a bit sad about that. His family had been in Gryffindor for ages and as much as he liked Scorpius, he wished with all his heart that the hat was going to put him into Gryffindor, too.

His brother had teased him all summer that he might end up in Slytherin, but dad had said that the hat would put him into Gryffindor if he wanted it badly enough. Well, if wanting it was the stipulation to get in, Al was as good as.

He hurried to the stool when Uncle, no, Professor Longbottom called his name and sat. The hat was too big for him and it slid down over his eyes. Al was thankful his ears stopped the hat from sliding down to his shoulders.

Somebody giggled. "In all those centuries," a tiny voice said, "nobody has ever pictured that. Thanks for giving me this image, it will entertain me during lonely evenings on my shelf. So, little one, where will I put you?"

"Gryffindor, please, please, Gryffindor!" Al thougth with all his might.

"Want Gryffindor, eh? They all want Gryffindor since the Potter boy got rid of the Heir."

"What Heir?" Al asked curiously.

"The Heir of Slytherin, of course."

"The Heir of Slytherin? I wasn´t aware there was an Heir of Slytherin."

"Want to find out more about the house? Then best be SLYTHERIN!"

Al´s stomach went cold. The hat had shouted the last word aloud and the whole hall was buzzing with whispers. Even the teachers joined in.

"Slytherin?" Al heard a man say, "my, my, Potter´s going to faint when he hears his boy went into Slytherin."

"Potter?" a woman answered, "wait till the Weasleys hear."

Al thought he was going to faint. Hands shaking, he put the hat back on the stool and with wobbling knees he set out for the Slytherin table. He was not going to make it. ´Wait till the Weasleys hear´. ´Potter´s going to faint´. He was a disgrace to the family. James had been right all summer. The boy set one foot in front of the other like he was in a trance. He was going to faint. What had looked like a few meters moments ago seemed like a far distance now.

Suddenly there was a hand at his elbow.

"Come," said Scorpius, "I´ll help you."

Thankful, Al allowed himself to be led to the Slytherin table and steered onto a bench beside Scorpius. He wasn´t aware that there were no greetings and handshakes like when other first years had joined a house table. The whole house was dumbfounded. Some stared at him in disbelief, others in open hostility.


	2. A not ideal start

Had anybody cared to ask Al how he made it through the feast, the boy´d have told them that he had no idea. Later, on the way to Slytherin House, he remembered that he had eaten, but he didn´t remember what. Scorpius must have filled his plate. The blond held his elbow again and led him along with the other Slytherin first years. Four boys and six girls, counting Scorpius and himself.

They were all following a tall blackhaired boy, seemingly a prefect. The older student led the way down to the dungeons, past classroom doors, and finally stopped in front of what seemed to be a common piece of dungeon wall.

"This is the entrance to Slytherin House. The password is ´No Regrets´." The prefect stepped inside as the wall opened. The group of first years followed. "This is the Common Room," the older boy continued, "we meet here to chat as well as to study. You´re supposed to grant those who are working here peace and quiet. When you come here to study instead of working in your dorm or the library, you signal your housemates that you could do with some help. An older student will take care of your problem when he or she has time to. When you wish to work in the Common Room, but don´t need help, you´re supposed to put your scarf on the backrest of your chair, so that the older students know. Do not ask for a tutor lightly. Try to do your assignments alone first. Please note that the older students have their own homework to do."

The first years nodded. Everybody looked determined to succeed on their own.

"Nevertheless, when you really need help, don´t hesitate to ask. Slytherins stand up for each other, even more after The War. You all know what it means to face mistrust and rejection." The prefect glared at Al. "Well, most of you do and the others will learn."

Next they were shown their dormitory. Their trunks had been brought downstairs for them. Al had the bed at the far end of the room, beside Scorpius´. An enchanted window was between their beds and they could see the starry sky´s reflection in the lake.

All four boys were very tired and excited at the same time. Hogwarts was overwhelming.

"I´m Vern Parker," said one of the other boys and came over to shake Al and Scorpius´ hands. They introduced themselves. "What was that commotion about when you were sorted?" the boy, a lot bigger than Al, curly brown hair, asked curiously.

"You´re muggle-raised, aren´t you?" Scorpius asked.

"Yes," Vern said, bewildered.

"Is that important to you, Deatheater?" asked the fourth boy.

Scorpius paled.

"It´s people like you, who disgrace the house of Salazar Slytherin. You know what? I think people like you shouldn´t be allowed into Hogwarts." The boy, blond like Scorpius, but of a heavier build, sneered at the smaller boy.

"Leave him alone!" Al defended his new friend.

"You of all people defend him, Potter?" the bigger blond stared in disbelief. "After what people like him did to your family?"

"He did nothing at all to my family. He did nothing to me, but be a friend."

Scorpius smiled shyly.

The other boy harumpfed and prepared to go to bed. "I´m Enrico Zabini, by the way" he murmured when he crawled under his sheets.

"Can anybody explain what this is about?" Vern asked.

"Tomorrow," said Al. "We´re all too tired now."

Vern nodded and went to bed.

Al lay awake until the first rays of dawn came through the window.

-x-

"You think what? Deatheater sounds cool?" Enrico shouted at the top of his lungs and Al woke with a start. He was still tired and wished the other boy´d be a bit more quiet. Reluctantly he opened his eyes and rose on his elbow. A moment later, however, he was wide awake.

Enrico was approaching Vern threateningly. Although the curly boy was rather tall, the blond towered him by several inches.

"Leave him alone," said Scorpius. The young Malfoy was already dressed. "He´s muggle-raised. He doesn´t know what it means."

Al thought Scorpius had a point. He himself hadn´t been aware of deatheaters and what his dad had done either before Scorpius explained it on the train. Enrico however did not agree.

"First defend him, then recruit him. Is that what you´re up to?" He approached Scorpius now.

"No! Not at all!" The smaller boy retreated a step, but Enrico followed and pushed him.

"Stop it!" cried Al, "We´re all housemates! We should be friends!"

"Ha!" spat the bigger boy and pushed Scorpius again.

Al came to his friend´s aid without thinking and soon a fight was going on in the Slytherin first year boys´ dormitory.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" cried Vern and tried to seperate the fighters, but to no success.

Enrico hit anything moving within his reach and Al and Scorpius kicked, hit and spat in order to make up for their lack of size.

At last Vern gave up and ran to get help. He needn´t go far. As soon as he opened the dorm door and the racket the three fighters were making was heard in the corridor, a prefect stepped into the room. It was the tall, darkhaired boy, who had showed them their dorm the previous evening.

"You will stop this disgusting behaviour at once!" the prefect bellowed, but the three boys didn´t hear him.

Older students were gathering and peeking in through the door. A little later a teacher stepped into the room, alerted by one of the older Slytherins.

The man was small and slim. His dark hair was tied in his neck with a simple black ribbon. He wore a black suit and a light black cloak instead of robes. Although most of the students were taller than him, the teacher got their attention without effort. Everybody stepped back to give him room. The man took in the scene in front of him and drew his wand wordlessly. He pointed it at the fighting boys and a flood of icy water flowed over them.

The three stopped immediately and spluttering, they tried to see who had soaked them.

"Fifty points from Slytherin, each of you," the teacher said sternly. "Jonah, give them buckets and rags to clean this mess up. No magic." That said, the man turned on his heel and left.

Jonah, the prefect, brought cleaning devices and proctored their cleaning. "This is the first time in history that Slytherin starts the year in negative points!"

Al blushed and Scorpius and Enrico hung their heads in shame. The only good thing was that Vern helped them clean up and Jonah let him.

-x-

The boys went to the Great Hall for breakfast in silence. Jonah led the way, he never turned to see whether they followed. When they finally reached the Slytherin table, they found themselves targets of many angry stares. The prefect went to join some older students and the four first years were left to find themselves seats.

Al felt awkward. What if nobody wanted them near them? What if they weren´t welcome at their housetable? Would they be allowed to eat in the Common Room or perhaps their dorm? His fears dissolved however, when some boys who sat at the end of the table scrambled aside to make room for the four newcomers.

With a grateful smile Al settled down, Scorpius beside him, while Vern and Enrico took the seats opposite them. None of the older students returned the smile. The four boys helped themselves to some toast and marmalade and pumpkin juice.

Al had just started his third slice of toast, when the teacher who had separated them stepped towards their end of the table.

"I´m Professor Slope, your Head of House," the man said, eyeing them sternly, "due to other activities" – he looked sour as if he had bitten into a lemon – "you missed my start of term address to the house. These are your timetables. You will come to my office tonight after dinner, I will explain to you what you missed. Thanks to your lack of self-control Slytherin has already lost its chances of winning the House Cup this year before lessons started. Nevertheless you will work hard in order to grant the house an honorable rank at the end of the school year. We don´t want to finish last. So try not to lose more points or it will not be so readily forgiven again."

All four boys hung their heads. "Yes, Sir," piped one after the other.

Professor Slope nodded courtly. "Hurry now! Professor McGonagall is known to deduce points for being late."

After quick "Yes, Sir!" and "Thank you, Sir!" the four boys rushed back to Slytherin house to grab their satchels. Their lessons started with double transfiguration and a single period of herbology before lunch.

As quickly as possible they gathered their books for the morning lessons and rushed back upstairs.

"Where´s the transfiguration classroom?" cried Vern, looking around the entrance hall as if expecting a sign to pop out of thin air.

It was only then that Al became aware that he had no idea. They were going to lose more points if they were late!

"Can you tell us where the transfiguration classroom is?" Enrico addressed an older student at the very moment.

The redhaired girl, a Hufflepuff according to the colour of her tie, pointed them in the right direction and the boys ran upstairs. Soon they saw the group of Slytherin first year girls in front of them. The boys grinned happily at each other. They´d done it. Another short sprint brought them to the girls and the ten Slytherins entered the classroom together.

-x-

They had transfiguration with the Ravenclaws, who were already there. Al and Scorpius sat at a table in the middle of the classroom. They had barely unpacked their books and parchment, when the professor entered.

The teacher was a very old witch. Her grey hair was bound in a bun and she was wearing a dark green pointed witch´s hat and matching robes.

"I´m Professor McGonagall," the witch greeted them and unrolled a piece of parchment. "Today I will learn who you are and you will learn how to transfigure a match into a needle. But first things first."

She started to read out their names from the parchment and greeted each student with some personal words. For some it was a question about an older brother or sister, for others a simple request whether they had settled in fine. Al guessed that the latters were students from muggle families, for the professor´d not have any personal information about them. Scorpius was the first one to be asked how his father was ("Thank you, he´s fine, Professor."). Al was the second.

"Albus Potter? Ah, yes, that´s you, undoubtedly. You´re the spitting image of your father, . How is he?" The professor never gave Al a chance to answer the question as she went on. "A pity, I´d hoped all his children´d go into my house! In fact I returned to the school in order to . . ." She hesitated and left the sentence unfinished. Al had a feeling she had already said more than she had planned to. "Does he already know, ?"

Al swallowed hard. "No, Professor, I had no time to inform him yet," he piped.

For a moment the professor looked as if she was going to say more, but then she pursed her lips and looked back at her list.

-x-

The rest of the lesson was much better. The professor explained how transfiguration worked, how they were supposed to rearrange submolecular particles (the essence of matter, the professor called it, but auntie Mione had given Al a muggle book about the structure of molecules and a booklet on "The Muggle Point of View on Transfiguration" for Christmas last year, so Al knew about quarks). Then they were given a match each and the professor showed them how to make it a needle.

Transfiguration came easy to him, Al found out. The match became pointy at the first attempt and its colour changed to silver on the second.

"Excellent, ! Take two points for Slytherin!" the professor exclaimed.

Al smiled. He´d won two points! So he needed only forty-eight more to repair the damage he had done earlier. The boy concentrated hard and by the end of the lesson he had produced a box of needles, but the professor didn´t give him any more points.

Enrico and Scorpius succeeded with their task rather quickly, too. Vern was the only one, who had difficulties. Maybe it was because being muggle-raised transfiguration was entirely new to him.

At the end of the lesson the professor gave them homework, an essay and a practical task (make a pencil from a stick).

"Slytherins, your next lesson will be Herbology. The professor asked me to tell you to meet him at the entrance. He´ll show you the way to the greenhouse." With that they were dismissed and went downstairs as they had been told to.

"You won two points!" said Scorpius. "Well done! I wish she´d given me and Enrico points, too!"

Enrico, who was walking beside them, seemed pleased that Scorpius wanted points for him, too. "If we work hard, we´ll be able to win some points, too," he said. "Perhaps we can win back all the points we lost for Slytherin."

Al and Scorpius agreed. "We must at least try," said Al and the blond nodded.

"I´ll help," Vern promised. "the fight was my fault after all. Now I think of it, I still don´t know why you were so upset."

"In the evening," Al suggested. "We´ll talk about it before bed. We can´t risk getting in trouble again."

-x-

Professor Longbottom waited for his class at the entrance of the school. He counted his students, ten Slytherins and ten Hufflepuffs, and then led the way to the greenhouse.

He, too, read out the names of his students first and greeted everyone personally like professor McGonagall had done. He didn´t comment on Al being in Slytherin though, but merely asked whether his parents were well.

After going over the names, the professor started the lesson. It was very interesting and Al was able to answer several questions. The professor used the first lesson to talk about the equipment they were going to use in herbology and Al made good use of the hours spent in gran Molly´s garden.

The other Slytherin boys tried hard to answer the professor´s questions, too. Vern knew some things about fertilizers. Scorpius was able to name influences on the herbs´ qualities which were out of the herbologist´s reach. (the moon and the weather mainly, though the weather thing wasn´t true for some wizards) Enrico answered a question about the use of dragon hide gloves.

Unlike professor McGonagall, professor Longbottom didn´t give points for answers during the lesson. He awarded them at the end.

"In my opinion," he explained, "you deserve more points for a whole lesson of good work than for one flash of brilliance. So let´s see what you earned today." He started reading out their names again, telling every student what he had liked about their work today. The professor was very kind, no student was belittled, but each got some praise, though not each got points. The four Slytherin boys, however, got points. Professor Longbottom awarded each of them one.

After the point-awarding, the professor gave them homework – an essay – and sent them off to lunch.

-x-

Al realized only then how hungry he was. After the events of the morning he hadn´t gotten much for breakfast and the lessons had been exhausting, too. He tucked into a bowl of vegetable and chicken stew and had three goblets of pumpkin juice.

After the meal he prepared to go to his dorm to get his things for his afternoon lessons, but when he came to the Entrance Hall, he was stopped by his big brother, James.

"Hi, Al!" James greeted him cheerfully. "How´re you doing in the snakes´ den?"

Al glared at his brother defiantly. "Well."

"Rumor has it that Slytherin´s dramatic loss of points they never had is your doing." James eyes twinkled and Al knew he was teasing him.

He was just going to reply when Scorpius stepped beside him. "It wasn´t his fault!"

Al smiled. "Calm down, Scorp, that´s my brother. He´s only teasing."

Scorpius eyed the other boy suspiciously.

Al continued with the introductions. "This is James, my brother, and this is my friend Scorpius Malfoy."

James´ smile vanished. "A Malfoy? Who´d want to be friends with a Malfoy?"

Scorpius, who had smiled friendly, when Al introduced him, seemed to shrink by some inches. He turned to leave, but Al wouldn´t let him.

"I want to be friends with him," the younger Potter informed the older.

"You´d rather not," said James coolly, "wait ´til you hear in History of Magic! His family is evil! His grandfather nearly got mum killed! And his dad nearly killed Dumbledore! ALBUS Dumbledore, the one you´re named for!"

Al shrugged. "But Scorpius did no such thing."

"You´re stupid!" James was really angry now.

"Perhaps," said Al, fighting back tears, "but this stupid has a friend!"

James glared at the two younger boys and then stomped upstairs towards Gryffindor tower. Al couldn´t but stare after him.

After a while he was startled from his thoughts by a hand touching his shoulder. He smiled despite the anger and grief he felt and followed Scorpius to the dungeons.

-x-

They had double potions with the Gryffindors in the afternoon. It was taught by professor Slope, the Slytherin Head of House. Scorpius explained to Vern – and Al listened with interest – that Hogwarts had a tradition, which said that the potions master was also the Head of Slytherin.

"But Rico said that to be a Head of House you´ve got to have been there as a student," Vern was clearly puzzled. "Surely not all potions masters have been in Slytherin."

"Not all," Scorpius admitted, "but most. Remember the hat´s song. Slytherins are cunning and loyal and seek power. Each Slytherin potions master at Hogwarts has made sure to teach his snakes a little better than the rest for centuries. Potions is a difficult subject. Little differences in teaching can make huge ones in the outcome."

"You mean is going to teach us differently than the rest?"

"If he follows the tradition." Scorpius shrugged.

"And it´s difficult?" Vern was a little disquieted.

"It is, says my dad, but when you work hard, it´s a very rewarding subject," said Al.

Scorpius snorted. "Really? My dad told me, potions was the one subject the Gryffindor hero was abysmal in."

Al shot his friend an angry look. "Dad says he never really tried, because of personal problems with the teacher. He learnt it later during his auror training and he found it very interesting and useful."

They had reached the classroom, where the Gryffindors were already waiting. Al contemplated the group, which he had hoped to become a part of. Cousin Rose was among them. She chatted happily with two other girls. When she became aware that Al was watching her, she smiled and came to him.

"Hi, Al!" she greeted him cheerfully. "That was quite a surprise yesterday, wasn´t it? Girls, that´s my cousin Al."

Her two friends smiled at him.

"Al, these are Stella and Circe." Rose pointed at the girls as she said their names.

Stella had flaming red hair, like most of Al´s family, and light blue eyes. Circe was easily the smallest girl Al had ever seen. She was by one and a half heads smaller than he was, which was to say something seeing that he was on the small side himself. The girl´s hair was bushy, like auntie Mione´s, but a very light blond. It looked stunning with Circe´s dark, almost black, eyes. Was the girl a Veela, like auntie Fleur?

Before Al could think about it, the classroom door was opened and the professor told them to hurry inside.

"See you later," whispered Rose and hurried to find herself a seat.

Al and Scorpius chose seats at the front of the class, Enrico and Vern sat opposite them so that the four Slytherin boys shared one worktable.

Professor Slope read out the names, but made no comments to any student. He just looked at them when he called their name and Al had the feeling of being a guinea pig for the professor´s memory training.

After the names, the professor inspected the equipment they had brought. Like professor Longbottom, he made sure they knew what they were working with before actually getting started.

The last part of the lesson was used for a first attempt at brewing. The professor had them open their textbooks and told them to make the starter´s potion on page four.

"I want to see what I can expect of you. Therefore each of you will try to brew the potion with the textbook as an only guide. Read the instructions carefully and you will succeed. Everything you need to know is in the text."

Most of the class looked shocked. Only few students started working right away, among them Rose and Al. No relative of Hermione Weasley, nee Granger, would have difficulties following instructions from a book, that was sure.

Scorpius was another student, who started quickly.

In the end Rose, Al and the blond were the only ones to finish the potion before the end of the lesson. The professor awarded them one house point each.

After giving them homework – an essay – he sent them off, though not before reminding the Slytherin boys of their appointment later.

-x-

The boys went to dinner directly after the lesson. They had a lot of homework to do and in addition to that had to see professor Slope in his office.

They sat near the end of the table again. Soon the seats around them were filled with housemates. A girl, who must have been third or fourth year, congratulated them for winning some points back and several other students agreed silently with a smile.

Others were not forgiving so readily.

"I say," said one of the older boys, loud enough for half the table to hear, "Potter works for Gryffindor. They sent him here as a spy and to sabotage Slytherin. We have won the Cup eight times in a row, no wonder they´re desperate."

"You know that this is ridiculous?" asked one of the girls. She looked at the boy as if he had grown an extra nose.

"No," another boy joined the conversation, "I think Rufus has a point, actually. I mean, Potter comes from a Gryffindor clan! Nobody remembers ANYone in his family being in a different house. So why is he in Slytherin?"

Al thought about explaining, but he felt telling his housemates that he never had wanted to join Slytherin house wouldn´t be diplomatic, so he said nothing.

Some of the older kids went on for a while that he – Al – was not to be trusted. In the end Scorpius told them to shut up and they obeyed, though they glared daggers at the blond. Scorpius didn´t seem to mind. He stared back and as soon as they had finished their meal, the four first year boys went to professor Slope´s office.

-x-

The four boys had to wait for more than twenty minutes for the professor. Enrico kept complaining that he was losing precious working time. Vern looked nervous, but didn´t say anything, which was – in Al´s opinion – wise, because the boy had a creepy talent to send Enrico and Scorpius fighting. The blond scowled every time Enrico complained, but remained quiet.

Al spent the waiting time contemplating his situation. He still had no idea why the hat had put him into Slytherin, but after the first day he wasn´t too happy about it. The only good thing was his new friendship with Scorpius, but that wasn´t much compared to his brother being mad at him, his new housemates distrusting him for being a Potter – which was hard to accept for Al had, up to then, had no idea that being a Potter meant something special – and him angering his new Head of House on the very first occasion, moreover even before he knew who the man was. Yes, Al felt miserable. He just hoped the professor wasn´t going to punish them further. He hoped this appointment wasn´t going to take too long for he was desperate to write to his parents. Maybe they´d know what to do about his misery and confusion.

When the professor arrived at last, he opened the door to his office and ushered them inside wordlessly. With a flick of his wand he conjured four wooden chairs and motioned the boys to sit, while he himself settled down in the armchair behind his desk.

The boys grew even more nervous, if that was possible. The professor not saying one word couldn´t be a good sign. They scraped uncomfortably on their seats and waited for the professor to say something.

The man folded his hands in front of his chest, leaned back in his chair and scrutinized the four faces in front of him with his menacing dark blue eyes. One by one the boys lowered their eyes. The floor seemed to be very interesting all of a sudden. A part of Al´s brain registered that professor Slope had the gift of making you feel guilty without even uttering a reproach. He thought he shouldn´t be affected so much, for his mother had the same gift, especially when she was angry, but he was.

After two minutes Al hoped dearly the professor´d have pity with them and say something, for he was going to confess guilt for everything bad that had happened in the world since Merlin´s death, if only to end this silence. Never before had he been subjected to such a loud silence. Professor Slope outdid mum easily when it came to soundless yelling.

"So, have we been burdened with a bunch of troublemakers?"

Four pairs of eyes snapped up from the floor.

"Or were you merely irresponsible? I wonder whether you´re apt to learn."

Four voices assured the professor that they had been foolish and saw their fault and that it would never ever happen again.

Professor Slope followed their vows with a stony face.

"We´ll see," he said when the boys had fallen quiet, "whether those are just words. Work hard and you´ll be forgiven. The house is angry at you and with good reason. You will see that earning trust is harder than losing it."

The boys nodded.

"Well, as for the start of the year address. Usually I tell my students to work hard in order to win the Cup, but this year I had to tell them that we don´t want to end up last." The man smiled, but the smile didn´t reach his eyes. "As your Head of House it is my responsibility to guide you through your studies. So if you ever need help, don´t hesitate to ask for it. Some of you will be aware that Slytherin house had to face hard times after the War. Many prominent families connected with the house were accused of working for the Dark Lord. Many, whose influence and wealth had guaranteed the house to flourish, lost their position within wizarding society." – he looked at Scorpius and the boy nodded – "The house had to face mistrust and reproach. Some families even withdrew their sons and daughters from Hogwarts when they were sorted into Slytherin. It rests upon you to reinstate the house´s glory. Work hard! As we have lost power and wealth, we can only rely on the outstanding academic achievements of our students to show that the house of Salazar Slytherin still is to be taken into account."

All four boys promised to work to the best of their abilities.

The professor nodded curtly and dismissed them. It was already quite late and they hurried to their dormitory. Three in order to do their homework, but Al in order to write a letter.

-x-

Once back in their dormitory, the boys set to work. Al took a piece of parchment out of his satchel and sat on his bed. He had so much to say and even more to ask. Where to start? How to put it all into one single letter?

"Dear Mum and Dad," the letter said at last,

"I´m not sure whether you have heard, for it caused quite an uproar here and maybe Uncle Neville told you, the Hat put me in Slytherin. I swear I didn´t want to go there, but asked it to put me in Gryffindor. The Hat said that everybody wants Gryffindor since Dad got rid of the Heir. What Heir, Dad? Everybody here is talking about a battle and you being a hero. I´m confused for they all seem to know more about you than I.

I´ve made a new friend. His name is Scorpius Malfoy and James is mad at me for being friends with him. He says Scorpius is not to be trusted, but I can´t reject my friend for his name, can I? Not when half of Slytherin house mistrusts me for being a Potter. They think I´m a Gryffindor spy. It´s all really complicated, but I´m confident that I´ll manage well with Scorpius´ help.

Hug Lily from me!

Your son Al"

Al had tried hard to ask his questions without sounding like a whiner or too nosy.

"I´ll go to the owlery," he informed the room at large and got up from the bed.

Scorpius looked at him questioningly and when Al smiled, he got up too and announced that he needed a break and a walk.

-x-

It was late and few students were in the corridors. The way up to the owlery was long and the only one they met was the caretaker, Mr. Filch, who reminded them harshly that curfew was near and they´d better hurry back to their house.

"Dad said," Scorpius informed Al, "that Filch had a cat back then. Mrs. Norris. I wonder whether he still has it."

"I doubt it. Cats don´t become that old," Al pointed out.

"You´re probably right," Scorpius admitted.

The owlery was a towerlike room without panes. Hundreds of owls sat in small niches and on the rafters. Most of them were barn owls and belonged to the school.

Al´s owl was a barn owl, too. Its name was Mercury and it was a present from Uncle Ron. Al wondered, whether his uncle´d given him an owl, had he known that his nephew was going to be a Slytherin. Probably not, he guessed.

Mercury came down to his owner, when the boy waved his roll of parchment.

"Hello," he greeted the bird as it landed on his shoulder and nibbled his earlobe affectionately. "I brought you something and I need you to take this letter to Mum and Dad."

The owl hooted and accepted the piece of sausage Al held out.

"Wow! He´s beautiful!" gasped Scorpius. "May I stroke him?"

"Go ahead, he likes being stroked. James keeps teasing me that my owl´s a cuddler."

"James´s teasing you a lot." Scorpius stroked the owl´s soft feathers reverently.

"Dad says that´s what big brothers are for." Al tied the letter to Mercury´s leg.

After a last stroke, they sent the owl off. Mercury circled the boys´ heads, hooted and left through one of the paneless windows.

-x-

They made it back to the Common Room just before curfew. In fact, they had to run down several staircases. Al had a stitch in his side when they reached the entrance to Slytherin house and a panting Scorpius gave the password. He didn´t mind. Under no circumstances did Al want to lose more points for Slytherin, a stitch in his side was a low price to grant this.

Several older students glared at them when they entered the Common Room, breathless. Their looks told them what their housemates thougth of them being late. Scorpius glared back and led Al to their dormitory.

Vern and Enrico were just finishing the essays they were working on. When they had packed away their things, there was an awkward silence, which was at last broken by Vern.

"So, will anybody explain what this deatheater bla bla is about?"

Enrico glared at the boy, but Al shook his head. "We won´t gain anything, if we start to fight every time someone mentions the word."

The big blond glared at Al, too, but sat on his bed peacefully.

"Who can explain?" Al asked, looking at Enrico and Scorpius in turn.

"I´ll do it!" hurried Enrico to say. "I won´t advertise this scum."

Scorpius looked furious, but remained silent for peace´s sake.

"More than thirty years ago a very evil wizard founded an organisation he called the deatheaters. He and they fought to get rid of all people, who – in their opinion – were inferior. Muggles and muggleborn witches and wizards. They killed and tortured. Many people died. Muggles and wizards alike, though the muggles weren´t aware who caused the deaths. – Right?" Enrico glared at Scorpius and the boy nodded.

"Then the Evil Wizard went to kill those who fought him. Many pureblood wizards died, too. Most of them were in an organisation called ´Order of the Phoenix´, which was founded by Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts at that time. – Right?" Another nod from Scorpius.

"Most people had lost all hope. But then the unthinkable happened. The Evil Wizard was destroyed when he tried to kill a baby. Harry Potter, Al´s dad." Al gasped. He´d had no idea!

"But the Evil Wizard wasn´t dead. He survived because of some very Dark Magic he had done. But he was so weak, he couldn´t do anything for thirteen years. Then he came back. And he tried again to kill Al´s father with the help of his deatheaters, who had remained loyal to him. And he recruited new ones. In the end Al´s dad killed him. Here at Hogwarts. In the Great Hall." Al and Vern stared at the boy with big eyes. Al had heard that part of the story from Scorpius, but somehow hearing it again made it more real.

"He" – Enrico scowled at Scorpius – "comes from a family, which is as dark as they can be. His grandfather and his father were sworn deatheaters. His aunt was the Evil Wizard´s right hand. And he himself is evil, too. How can´t he be."

Scorpius had paled as soon as the other boy had started his tirade over the Malfoy family.

"I´m not evil!" he piped.

Vern looked disquietened, if not frightened.

"Scorpius is not evil!" said Al. He tried to make his voice firm. "It´s unfair to blame him for what his family has done."

The smaller blond smiled shyly. "My grandfather was a deatheater," he confessed, "but when my father was forced to join his loyalty wavered. My dad had to join or he´d have been killed. The Evil Wizard didn´t react well to disobedience, as you can imagine. In the end my family was held in his service by fear. You can blame them of having been too frightened to leave. My grandmother helped Al´s dad in the end. That was the only time one of my family stood up against the Evil Wizard." Scorpius hung his head as if ashamed of his family´s cowardice.

"You are neither your father nor your grandfather," Al assured his friend.

Vern nodded, a bit reluctant, but nevertheless. "I wouldn´t like to be judged by what my dad does or did," the boy said.

Enrico still glared at Scorpius.

"We´ll be roommates for seven years," said Al. "It will be easier if you at least try to become friends."

Enrico snorted and went to bed. The others followed his lead and when the last boy had slipped under his duvet, the lights went out.

"I´ll try, Malfoy, but I guarantee nothing," Enrico was heard after a while.


	3. The ghost

The next morning brought more lessons.

The first one was Charms with professor Flitwick and the Ravenclaws. The professor was tiny and very friendly. Like the other teachers, he read out the names first. After that the lesson began. It was about levitation. They were to attempt to levitate a feather.

Al thought it might be easy, for he had seen his parents do it on countless occasions. Levitation was, like the professor had pointed out, one of the most important skills for a witch or wizard. Whenever muggles carried heavy loads, magical folks levitated them. No matter whether it was about a shopping bag, a heavy cauldron full of soup or potions, a sleeping child or furniture, which was to be rearranged. Wizards levitated things all the time.

It wasn´t, however, as easy as it looked.

The class practiced the wand movement – a swish and a flick – for nearly all the lesson. Only ten minutes to the end the professor told them the spell they needed. Wingardium leviosa! They tried, but not a single student succeeded.

"As homework," said the professor, smiling at them kindly, "you will practice the wand movement and the incantation. I do not expect you to master the spell, but I will assume that you know the wand movement and the incantation when you come back for the next lesson."

The next lesson, a double period, was Defence Against the Dark Arts. Al hadn´t heard much about the subject before, but after all the talking about dark wizards and deatheaters he was eager to learn more. Especially what kind of magic his father had used to best the Evil Wizard.

The Defence teacher was a woman, professor Patrona. She looked a bit strange with her young face – she looked like she was eighteen – and her grey hair,which fell in long wavy strands down to her waist. She was, she told the class, an ex-auror. After an injury, received from a dark wizard, her left eye was nearly blind and she felt that she was a threat to her co-workers´ safety at the auror office and so she had resigned and taken on teaching at Hogwarts some years ago.

"During your first year," professor Patrona said, "you will not learn how to fight Dark Magic. To do that you need to have some basic magical skills, which you don´t – can´t have yet. Therefore we will concentrate on recognizing the Dark Arts and avoiding the dangers rather than fighting them. Well, I´m sure that many of you know something about the Dark Arts. Many of your parents fought in The War, many have lost loved ones to the Dark Arts. So, let´s hear what you know."

Several hands were raised. The professor smiled. One after the other the children told what they knew.

One girl described a dark item which strangled its victim, when not properly watched. Another knew about inferi, dead bodies bewitched to serve a dark wizard. A boy told about an unforgivable curse, which took the victim´s will away. Another knew a killing curse. There were tales about dark creatures, like dementors and werewolves.

Al started. Ted´s dad had been a werewolf. Ted was dad´s godson and came to visit frequently, he was like another big brother for Al. How could a nice person like Ted be a dark creature´s child?

Al felt a bit stupid. There he was, everybody talking about his father being a war hero and he knew nothing about dark magic. He only had become aware that his father still fought dark wizards, when the professor had explained what an auror did. Al knew that his father was an auror, but he had never cared to ask what that was. He had accepted that being an auror was a good thing, because everybody was proud of his father. His, Al´s, grandparents, his uncles, his mother, everybody. But up to an hour ago, he hadn´t known what aurors did.

Apparently Al wasn´t the only one, who felt stupid. Scorpius´ face looked exactly like Al felt. The blond boy was one of few students, who had nothing to contribute to the lesson. The others were muggleborns, who soon shivered with fear of the Dark Arts.

When they were on the way downstairs for lunch, Vern asked why Al and Scorpius hadn´t told what they knew. He´d assumed that they knew most, being the sons of a war hero and a dark wizard (Scorpius scowled at that).

"I had no idea about all that," confessed Al, "I guess dad didn´t tell me, because he doesn´t want the dark stuff in his family when he works with it."

Vern nodded understandingly. "And you?"

Scorpius shrugged. "I guess he wouldn´t want me to run around knowing dark stuff. It´d do his reputation no good. He´s mistrusted by most people anyway. Me knowing dark things would make things worse."

The four Slytherin first years walked the rest of the way to lunch in contemplative silence.

-x-

As they had Astronomy that night, the afternoon was free for the Slytherin first years. Al went to the library to catch up with his homework. Scorpius accompanied him and sat beside his working friend with a potions book. Whenever Al needed something, Scorpius´d put his own book aside and get it for him. With this help Al finished his essays quickly and they went back to the dormitory to do the practical parts of their assignments. Vern and Enrico were there, too. The four boys tried to accomplish professor McGonagall´s task together, but it wouldn´t work properly. The stick they worked on stayed a stick for some time, then it changed, but never into a pencil. The closest they got was a quill.

By dinner time the boys were frustrated. They decided to ask for help after the meal, which they did. Jonah, the prefect, lectured them on how to hold the wand and which incantation to use. Al thought it was boring and was pretty surprised to find the spell work five minutes later. The boys thanked Jonah enthusiastically and went back to their dormitory to practice.

As the clock neared eleven, they went downstairs to the Common Room to go to the Astronomy Tower together with the girls.

"Waiting for the first Astronomy lesson?" grinned one of the older boys, who were chatting by the fireplace. "Be careful when you go up there. Don´t let the ghost catch you."

"Ghost? What ghost?" Vern asked nervously.

"Don´t you know?" asked the older boy. "There´s a ghost up there! Nobody knows who he is, but he must be very creepy. Even the Bloody Baron avoids his presence. Though nobody knows whether this isn´t only rumour. The Baron is a very private ghost, he doesn´t share his thoughts with us mortals."

They had seen the Bloody Baron float by when they had arrived and James had told Al about Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, so the boy knew that there indeed were ghosts at Hogwarts. But he had never heard of one haunting the Astronomy Tower.

Was the boy lying? It was possible that he just wanted to scare the younger students. His grin definitely spoke for that. Nevertheless Al felt a bit shaky when they climbed the stairs to their Astronomy lesson a quarter hour later.

-x-

The caretaker stood by the door, which led up to the Astronomy Tower. He had a list of the students supposed to be there for the lesson and ticked off their names as they strolled past him.

The Astronomy teacher was a woman, professor Sinistra. She had her hair tied in a bun and she wore dark blue robes with pale, silvery stars on them. Al thought she must be nearly as old as professor McGonagall.

The professor didn´t dedicate time to reading out their names. Instead she explained how to set up their telescopes. Then she handed out star charts and set them their task for the first lesson. They were to look for some of the planets and describe what they looked like.

"The chart I gave you will tell you where to find the planets tonight. You´ll learn during the first term how to determine their position on your own, but that´s for the theoretical lesson on Friday. Today´s a practical and practical it shall be!"

Soon all ten Slytherins were busy with their telescopes. Al found it hard to find the planets. For him the sky looked nothing like the chart. There were so many more stars on the parchment than in the sky! Al swore under his breath. What a moment to find out that he, like his father, had problems with his eyesight!

As the lesson went on, Al tried hard to accomplish his goal, but it turned out he was slower than the rest of the class and once he had found a planet he had to watch it through narrowed eyes for quite a while to be sure of the details. Soon his eyes were moist with tears, astronomy was exhausting and frustrating for the boy.

Professor Sinistra walked from student to student in order to help and finally learn their names.

"You have to try harder, ," she said when she saw Al´s work. "What you did so far is inaccurate in parts and you´re too slow. We can´t stay here all night!"

"Yes, Ma´am!" Al piped.

When the lesson was over, everybody but Al had finished their task. The professor shook her head at the boy.

"Professor," said Al, and he couldn´t banish a hint of desperation from his voice, "I´m sure I can finish the task, if I can stay some more minutes!"

The professor looked as if she´d refuse him, but then she changed her mind and nodded. "You will stay no longer than half an hour, . I´ll carry my things down to my office and then I´ll return to collect your work and lock the door."

"Thank you, Professor!" Al set to work eagerly.

The woman smiled and shooed Scorpius, who wanted to stay with his friend, downstairs. "I don´t remember giving you permission to stay behind, !"

Then Al was alone.

-x-

After moving his telescope closer to the battlements – they were great for writing on – Al set to work. He still needed to find Mars and Neptune. He rushed to and fro between the telescope and the chart and parchment on the battlement. There! Neptune at last. Al narrowed his eyes. Was that a ring? No time to investigate further. He still needed Mars. Al noted down that Neptune had, in his opinion, a faint ring.

When he rushed back to the telescope, it felt as if he had stepped into an icy rain. Al shrieked. Somebody else shrieked!

Al tumbled back two steps and his eyes grew in horror. In front of him, right beside his telescope, stood a ghost.

The ghost had long hair and a rather big nose, his shirt was soaked in silvery blood, which seemed to come from wounds on his neck and torso.

For a moment Al and the ghost stared at each other, open-mouthed.

"Why are you still here?" snarled the ghost, who recovered first. "The lesson´s over!"

"I´m here to finish my assignment," piped Al.

"You got extra time?" the ghost eyed the boy suspiciously. Then he snorted. "A Potter obviously. It seems that the ignorance for rules is genetic for your lot."

"What?" Al was dumbfounded.

"Anyway," the ghost went on. "The lesson´s over, now get off my tower and don´t disturb me any longer."

"Your tower?" Al asked, astonished. "I wasn´t aware Hogwarts´ towers were personal property to anybody."

"Listen," the ghost said, teeth gritted, "I´ve been patient with you. Now leave! As long as I´m willing to let you!"

"What would you do, if I stay?" Al was determined to finish his work, Slytherin needed the points. "I still need Mars."

"What would I do?" the ghost echoed. "Kill you?" He moved closer until he stood nose to nose with the boy.

"Kill me?" Al piped and tried to withdraw further, but he felt the battlement touch his back.

The ghost grinned threateningly. "You wouldn´t be the first!" He pointed somewhere to Al´s left.

The boy looked where the ghost had pointed him. There, a meter or so from Al´s parchment, was a brass memorial tablet on the battlement, which the boy hadn´t noticed before.

"This is the place where Albus Dumbledore´s life was sacrificed by Severus Snape." Al read aloud.

"You see?" the ghost asked triumphantly. "You´d not be the first!"

Al grinned. "You´re Severus Snape? Then I have nothing to fear." He didn´t feel as confidant as he acted, but he thought that his parents wouldn´t name him for a bad man, would they? But then there was so much he had not known about his parents. Al squared his shoulders. "If you´ll excuse me, I´m looking for Mars."

The ghost – Severus Snape – stared at the little boy in front of him with disbelief. He had just revealed that he was a killer! Why wasn´t this child scared to death? He watched as the boy struggled with his telescope and narrowed his eyes again and again in order to see better.

"You need glasses?" the ghost asked after a little while.

"I guess so," replied the boy.

The ghost drifted nearer. "Let me have a look." He gazed through the ocular lense. "A little bit to the left."

Al did as he was told and finally found Mars. "Does Mars have two moons?" he asked.

"Mmh," the ghost growled and Al guessed it might be in agreement.

Al noted it down and packed his telescope.

"Thank you!" he said to the ghost, who now sat on the tablet.

"Don´t thank me," grumbled the ghost, "the sooner you´re finished, the sooner I´m rid of you."

Al looked a little disappointed. He bit his lower lip. Could he dare? He eyed the ghost from under his lashes as he sat on the battlement and dangled his legs back and forward, his heels disappearing within the stone from time to time. "May I ask you something?" the boy burst out at last.

"If you´ll go then."

"Why are you here?"

"What?"

"Why did you stay behind when you died?"

The ghost stared at the boy for a while. "Was afraid," he whispered then.

Al shook his head. "That´s a lie. My Dad says Severus Snape was the bravest man he ever knew."

The ghost swished closer in an instant. "Then why, Mr. Potter," he growled, "don´t you ask your father stupid questions and LEAVE ME ALONE?"

Al grabbed his school things and fled the tower. He met the professor at the foot of the stairs.

"Mr. Potter, right on time!" the woman smiled.

Al handed in his work with a shy smile and hurried back to Slytherin house.


	4. Hagrid

Scorpius waited for Al in the Slytherin Common Room.

"Did you finish your assignment?" he asked as soon as his friend entered through the Wall. "Is there something wrong? Why are you panting? Did you RUN all the way down?"

Al bent over and rested his hands on his knees, struggling for breath. "Met the ghost!" he managed to whisper at last.

"The ghost?" Scorpius' eyes resembled dinner plates. "No kidding?"

Al nodded. "He threatened to kill me, then he helped me with my task and then he yelled at me."

"Must be a strange ghost."

The boys had reached their dormitory while they talked.

"Can you show me?" Scorpius whispered.

"Tomorrow!" Al promised. Safely tucked into his bed, he thought the encounter with the ghost wasn´t that bad after all.

-x-

They had no new lessons the next day, but more Charms, Transfiguration and Herbology. Al and Scorpius spent all day making plans to go back to the Astronomy Tower. For a while Al had thought of confiding in Enrico and Vern and taking them with them, but they weren´t as good friends as Scorpius. They could take them another day, but this evening was for him and his best friend.

They sneaked upstairs before dinner. Careful not to run into a teacher or the caretaker, they made their way towards the entrance to the tower staircase. Twice they had to hide because a teacher came along, but they weren´t caught.

The Forbidden Forest and the lake looked wonderful in the golden sunlight of the late autumn afternoon.

"Wow! What a view!" cried Scorpius. "Where is the ghost?"

"He was over here!" said Al. "He sat right on this tablet."

Scorpius joined Al and together they looked at the memorial tablet. "My dad was up here when it happened," whispered Scorpius and slid his hand over the tablet reverently. "It was his task to kill the headmaster, but he couldn´t." The boy squared his shoulders and looked into Al´s eyes. "My dad isn´t a killer."

"Of course not!" Al said softly. "Now, where is that ghost?" He looked around, but no ghost showed itself.

"Never mind," smiled Scorpius when he noticed his friend´s disappointment. "Even without a ghost this was a splendid adventure." He grinned.

After a last look at the place where Albus Dumbledore had died, the two boys set out for the Great Hall and dinner.

-x-

"Where were you?" Vern looked hurt when they joined him at the Slytherin table. Enrico said nothing, but he observed them closely.

"Astronomy Tower," muttered Scorpius.

"What for?" Vern looked curious.

Scorpius looked at Al, wordlessly pleading for help. What was he to say? Surely the others would be angry with them for not sharing their little escapade.

"We talked about our dads," said Al, "nothing you´d want to hear."

Vern nodded. "I see, a private conversation." He smiled.

Al and Scorpius were both relieved. "You´re not angry?" Scorpius asked.

"Not at all!" grinned Vern and helped himself to a piece of apple pie. "There are some secrets you don´t even share with all your friends."

-x-

The next day they learned that professor Binns´ lessons were indeed as boring as the older students kept saying. The boys had actually been looking forward to the lesson as they hoped that the professor was going to tell them more about The Evil Wizard, but the ghost (they were taught by a real ghost!) insisted in "starting at the beginning" and rambled on and on about wizards in ancient Egypt and how they had created advanced protection spells while wizards all over Europe hadn´t invented the wand yet. Magic had been nothing more than occasional bouts when a magically gifted person was very angry or scared.

On an overall view, the professor´s entering the classroom through the blackboard was the most interesting part of the lesson.

Later they had another potions lesson. Al liked that. Professor Slope was a strict, but friendly man. He teamed his students up according to their abilities and provided different tasks for the teams. Al, Scorpius and Rose were the most advanced group and got the most difficult assignment. This time they weren´t able to outdo the rest of the class easily, but had to work hard in order to finish their very challenging assignment.

Al found that the professor didn´t care about Slytherin tradition. He treated the Gryffindor students with the same kindness as his Slytherins and awarded the class points without regard to which house a student was in.

This time Al and Scorpius got some praise, but no points from the professor. Instead Enrico earned one for looking up an ingredient in a potions lexicon from the students´ bookcase by the door without the professor needing to point him there.

"Well done!" Al cried happily when they left the potions classroom and Scorpius nodded in agreement.

Enrico looked smug. "Another point won back," he grinned happily, "maybe we do have a chance to win them all back."

"It will be hard work," Vern pointed out.

The others nodded acknowledgingly. It would be, but they were more than willing to face it.

-x-

Vern´s best subject turned out to be Herbology. His mother liked gardening and her only son had spent a lot of time helping her. So the boy knew a lot about seeds, watering and fertilizers. He knew how not each plant wanted the same sort of fertilizer and amount of water. He was used to repotting and the time-consuming trimming of bushes was no burden to him. In fact he said he found it relaxing.

Uncle Neville – professor Longbottom, Al really had to remember – had recognized a congenial soul in their first lesson and started giving Vern special tasks when he had finished his regulars. Vern was as proud as a young wizard could be, the more when the professor awarded him three points at the end of the lesson.

-x-

"Hagrid invited me for tea," Al told the boys at lunch on Friday. "Today, after my last lesson. Would you like to come?"

"Who´s Hagrid?" asked Vern.

"The giant who was in charge of the boats." Enrico explained.

"He´s only half giant." Al corrected him without thinking.

"Whatever," said Enrico eagerly. "You know him?"

"Dad knows him."

"He was there," said Scorpius, "at the Battle of Hogwarts."

"Boah!" Vern cried. "And he invited you for tea?"

Al looked bewildered. For him Hagrid had been a family member all of his life. He was used to the giant man visiting on weekends. It had been him who had given Al his very first pet, a black kitten called Nostradamus. Al had left the cat at home, because he was allowed only one pet at school and he thought an owl was more useful and then Lily was really fond of Nostradamus and had promised to take good care of the little mouser.

"He invited me and he told me to bring my friends. So, do you three want to come?"

The other Slytherin first year boys nodded eagerly. Tea with Hagrid in their first week! Cool!

-x-

The last lesson of the day was another Transfiguration lesson. Professor McGonagall made it quite challenging by testing them. Each student was given a tooth pick and was to transfigure it in front of the professor. To make it more difficult, the professor gave each student a different task.

Scorpius had to transfigure the tooth pick into a nail. It took him two attempts as he had never before transfigured anything into a nail, but he managed fine and the professor was more than content. She awarded the boy two points.

Vern – who had had difficulties with transfiguration from the very beginning as the concept was all new for him – had to make a needle. This task was easier than Scorpius´ and he succeeded on his first attempt.

"Very good, ," said the professor, "I see you have been practicing. Take another point for Slytherin." Vern beamed.

Al had to make a screw. "I´m aware this is pretty advanced for your stage of education, but I want you to try," the professor said. "Think well before you start."

Al tried to remember everything he had learned the past week and what Jonah had explained to them. He concentrated hard and then spoke his spell.

"Excellent!" cried the professor. "A pity I can´t add your points to my house. Five points to Slytherin!"

"I thought you were going to bite the tip of your tongue off!" whispered Scorpius when the professor moved on to the next table. He giggled and Al joined in happily.

A little later Enrico earned another point for his tooth pick to pencil transfiguration. The four boys were more than content when they walked over the lawn towards Hagrid´s hut.

-x-

Hagrid was busy feeding the chickens behind his hut. They heard him cry "putt, putt, putt" from afar and when they came around the corner they saw him stand in the yard, surrounded by some twenty fat hens and a proud rooster, throwing corn among the eager birds from a huge orange bucket.

"Hello Hagrid!" cried Al.

The gameskeeper´s face brightened when he saw the boys. "Al!" He threw another handful of corn, this time to the side, sending the flock of chickens away from him, and came over to them. He set the bucket down by the back door and wiped his hand on the red and white checkered apron he was wearing. "Do come in boys!"

Hagrid´s hut was small, if you took the size of its inhabitant into account, but spacious for the four boys. In one corner stood a huge bed with a colourful blanket. Al recognized it. Auntie Mione had knitted it for Hagrid. Auntie Mione liked knitting, but she was nowhere as good at it as Gran Molly, so she mostly made blankets.

Hagrid ushered them to a wooden table with two armchairs, a stool and a wooden bench, which was covered by another piece of Auntie Mione´s knitwear.

Vern and Enrico took the bench, Scorpius sat on the stool and Al sat in an armchair, leaving the other for Hagrid.

The halfgiant filled the kettle and started putting cups and plates on the table.

"Tataaah!" he placed a chocolate cake in the middle of the table with a broad smile. At Al´s doubtful look he laughed. "Don´t be afraid! I didn´t make it! Your grandmother did."

Al smiled. It sounded exactly like his Gran to provide Hagrid with a cake when she heard he had invited her grandson for tea.

"So," Hagrid went on as he poured tea to all four boys. "Why don´t you introduce your friends to me?"

"Oh yes!" Al cried happily. "This in Enrico Zabini and this is Vern Parker!" Both shook hands with Hagrid. "And this is my best friend, Scorpius Malfoy."

The blond boy smiled shyly at being called Al´s best friend.

"Malfoy?" Hagrid boomed. "You must be Draco Malfoy´s boy! You´re his spitting image, but I bet you hear that all the time."

Scorpius shrank back a little, but Hagrid seized his hand and shook it.

"So, there´s finally peace between the houses of Potter and Malfoy," Hagrid went on, "About time! We all waited for your fathers to make friends, but – alas – it wasn´t meant to be."

Hagrid cut the cake and gave the blond the first slice.

"Thank you, Sir!" said Scorpius.

"Can´t see any Sir in here," grumbled Hagrid, while he continued handing out cake, "it´s Hagrid."

"Thank you, Hagrid," the boys said merrily.

"So, you four, how are your lessons going?"

-x-

The four boys chatted happily about their lessons. They abused professor Binns for trying to bore them to death. Hagrid chuckled, but then reminded them that the ghost was a teacher and therefore had to be spoken of respectfully.

They all had a second slice of cake, then Hagrid got up.

"It´s late, boys, you´d better return to the castle. Al, would you mind staying behind for a little bit?"

"Not at all," Al answered politely.

The other boys took their leave and Al and Hagrid returned to the table.

"Al," Hagrid began carefully, "your father came to see me this morning."

"Dad was here?" Al asked wide-eyed. "Why didn´t he come to see me? I have so many questions!"

"It´s against the rules and your dad wouldn´t want to break them. Parents aren´t supposed to visit at Hogwarts."

Al hung his head.

"He said," Hagrid continued, "to tell you that the answers are too long and complicated to put into a letter. He wants me to explain a bit and he assures you you´ll get all the details you want when you come home for Christmas."

Al nodded and waited for Hagrid to go on.

"Al, you know that nobody has a problem with you being in Slytherin, don´t you? It´s not where we expected you to end up, but it is no problem. After the war, Slytherin house had a third of the students any other house had! We thought it might be dissolved within a few years, but then the hat started putting students, who were expected to go elsewhere, there. If you get to know your housemates better you´ll find students from all-Ravenclaw clans as well as all-Hufflepuff families. It´s a bit of a surprise that a Potter was the first from an all-Gryffindor kinship to go there, but why not." Hagrid shrugged.

"Hagrid," said Al, "why didn´t mum and dad tell me that it meant something special to be a Potter? Why didn´t they tell me about the war?"

"Oh, Al," Hagrid sighed, "your father had a hard time while he was at Hogwarts. Everybody knew who he was, wherever he went, his fame had gone there before. He always wanted to be just Harry but they wouldn´t let him. So he decided that his children would be just his children as long as he could help it."

Al thought about it for a while. "But didn´t he put me just in the situation he was in? Everybody knows more about me and my family than myself!"

Hagrid nodded. "He sees that now. At Christmas he´ll explain everything you want to know."

"Thanks Hagrid," Al said and got up. "I´d better return to the castle, too."

Hagrid showed him to the door and Al returned to his dorm deep in thought.

-x-

"What did he want?" Enrico asked curiously as soon as Al entered the room.

Al wasn´t sure he wanted to confide in the other boys, Scorpius, yes, but the other two? Including them to the visit at Hagrid´s had turned out to be a good idea. The atmosphere had been lighthearted there and Enrico and Scorpius hadn´t scowled at each other one single time.

"Passed on a message from my dad," the boy mumbled.

"Personal?" Vern asked cautiously.

"Mmh. I asked in my letter why he didn´t tell me about the war and he said he would explain when I go home for Christmas."

"That was all?" Scorpius looked concerned.

Al nodded. "Basically. Till Christmas seems to be such a long time!"

The others nodded. Suddenly the air seemed dense in the Slytherin first year boys´ dormitory. Al put his satchel into his trunk.

"I´ll go for a walk," he announced. "I need to think a bit."

Scorpius still looked concerned, but made no move to follow him and Al was grateful for that.

-x-

Al didn´t do it on purpose, it seemed as if his feet decided on their own where to go. It was only when the fresh evening air brushed his face that the boy became aware that he was on top of the Astronomy Tower. He went over to the battlement, where the memorial tablet was, and touched the cool metal lightly.

The view from the tower was spectacular by night. It was the full moon and the Forbidden Forest was bathed in the soft light of the celestial body.

"What are you doing here?"

Al started. The ghost of Severus Snape floated towards him and the man was furious.

"Another stroll after curfew, eh?"

"I never strolled after curfew!" Al defended himself. "Curfew isn´t but in half an hour!"

"So, pestering the dead, are we, Potter?"

"I´m not pestering you! I wasn´t even sure you were here, ever! We didn´t see you the other day."

"We? You and the young Malfoy. I saw you."

"You weren´t here!"

"I was! Right in this very place!"

"Then why didn´t we see you?"

"Because," the ghost became agitated and looked somewhat hurt, "in broad daylight GHOSTS ARE TRANSPARENT!"

"Oh, sorry," Al piped.

"Never mind," the ghost squared his shoulders and adjusted his translucent robes as he sat on a battlement a bit to the left. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Thinking."

"Sorry, then I´m disturbing you."

"Never mind."

For a while the ghost and Al sat in silence.

"You have to go. Five minutes till curfew," the ghost pointed out after a while.

Al got up immediately. "Thanks," he cried, "they´ll stone me, if I lose one more point for Slytherin!" He left the tower in a run.


	5. Halloween

Over the next few weeks life at Hogwarts became a routine for Al. He attended his lessons, did his homework and spent most of his free time with his friends and dorm-mates. The group of four worked out fine. After a rather difficult start the boys became friends, though Scorpius remained Al´s best friend.

Rose, who worked with Al and Scorpius in potions, must have told James off for being mean to his little brother, because one afternoon in October the older Potter seeked out the younger to make peace. He even shook Scorpius hands. It was a rather stiff encounter, but it was a start and Al was confident all was going to be well once James knew the young Malfoy a bit better.

Hagrid invited them for tea again as Halloween drew nearer. Many of the younger students had already gotten parcels from home with Halloween costumes. The older students usually bought theirs in Hogsmeade. On the way down to Hagrid´s hut the four boys chatted happily about the nearing feast.

"You know," Al teased good-naturedly, "I really like that pumpkin costume you got this morning, Enrico. You´ll look so ... "

"...cute!" Scorpius completed the sentence. His grey eyes were twinkling.

"Stop it!" cried Enrico and laughed. "My mother chose the costume!"

"And we all know you´re her little pumpkin!" Scorpius grinned.

Enrico hit him on his arm, but not too hard and the blond laughed. Those two had really come a long way.

"I won´t have a costume," Vern said sadly. "My parents don´t know about wizarding traditions and I´m not sure they can afford one anyway." Vern´s father, they knew by then, worked at a factory and didn´t earn riches. His mother was a secretary, but she looked after Vern´s ill grandmother most of the time and couldn´t work full-time.

"You don´t have to buy a costume, you can make one," said Al. He had brought his in his trunk at the beginning of the school year. Dad had made the costumes with his two sons on a weekend in summer. Al was going to be a goblin, James a banshee.

"Make one?" Vern didn´t sound convinced.

"We can ask Hagrid!" Al suggested.

-x-

Hagrid was thrilled to assist Vern with his costume. He promised to help and made an appointment for the next morning with the boy.

"You better come alone," he laughed, "you don´t want the others to know what you´ll be in advance!"

"Hey," cried Enrico, "everybody knows what I will be!"

The boys laughed and after a short explanation Hagrid joined in heartily.

-x-

Professor Slope waited for them at the entrance when they returned to the castle. The boys looked at each other nervously. Going to Hagrid´s wasn´t against the rules, was it? Nevertheless the professor looked serious.

"Mr. Malfoy," he said, ignoring the others, "I need a quick word with you. Follow me to my office."

Scorpius looked bewildered, but did as he was told. Al signalled him to meet them at the dorm and the blond nodded.

They played Exploding Snap while they waited. Vern couldn´t get enough of the game. He had never heard of it before coming to Hogwarts, but after a brief orientation phase he had become really good at it. He won the first three games easily.

Enrico and Al tried hard to get the better of their friend and they were in a not too bad position, when Scorpius entered the dormitory.

The boy´s face was ashen and stony. He went to his trunk and started to throw items of clothing into a small bag.

"What´re you doing?" asked Al and joined his friend. The others abandoned their game, too, to hear what it was about.

"My grandmother is very ill," said Scorpius, "they think she will ... " a single tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it with his hand furtively.

"Oh, Merlin," whispered Al and handed his friend a handkerchief.

Scorpius blushed, but accepted it.

"That´s bad!" agreed Vern. "My grandfather died three years ago. I felt horrible." His eyes glistened with sympathy.

"I didn´t know your grandfather was dead," said Enrico.

"I didn´t tell," said Vern. "I loved him very much. I was named for him. Actually his name was Vernon, but dad says they couldn´t use that name. Don´t know why."

"I was named for my grandfather, too!" Enrico grinned. "And you Scorpius?"

"Great grandfather," mumbled the small blond and dragged his now full bag towards the door.

Al took one of the handles and helped his friend carry it. "Where do you have to go now?"

"Slope´s office," said Scorpius. "He organized for me to floo from there."

Al helped him carry the bag all the way to their Head of House´s office. "Take care and all the best for your grandmother," he said there. After a quick hug Scorpius knocked at the door and was let in by professor Slope.

-x-

Al stared at the closed door for a minute before he set out to go back to his dormitory. His best friend was gone and he hadn´t asked when he would be back. He hadn´t walked but a few steps when professor Slope´s voice stopped him.

"Potter!"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Malfoy arrived safely at his family´s residence."

"Thank you, Sir."

"It was good of you to come with him. He needed a friend."

"He IS my friend."

The professor smiled. "That he is, Mr. Potter."

-x-

Al felt a bit lost with Scorpius gone. As he and the young Malfoy had always been closer than with the two other boys in their dormitory, Enrico and Vern had become best friends and now Al couldn´t help it, he felt a bit left out.

He spent the next morning with Enrico and their Charms homework, while Vern went to Hagrid´s, but as soon as Vern was back, Enrico sticked to him. The two whispered about Vern´s visit with Hagrid and giggled and although they didn´t explicitely say that Al wasn´t wanted, he felt left out.

Al was grateful when James asked him to spend the afternoon with him and his friends at lunch. They played a game of soccer on the lawn. James´ friends turned out to be really nice. Al had never before talked to them, but he had seen them from afar and knew them from his brother´s stories about life at Hogwarts.

There were Tom and Jerry, twins, muggleborn obviously, for which wizard in their right mind would name their sons for a comic cat and mouse? Tom and Jerry were both rather tall for their age and had short brown hair and hazel eyes, which reminded Al of his mother. The other two Gryffindor second years were Harry and Icarus, whom Al knew rather well, because the blond and his grandfather visited the Potters from time to time. The grandfather – Dedalus – was an old acquaintance of Al´s dad. Harry had long red hair and Al found it rather funny that the boy shared a name with his father. Harry wasn´t a typical wizarding name after all and the redhead came from a pureblood family.

They played three on three. Al was teamed up with the twins, who were the tallest of the six boys. "They´ll make up for your short legs," James teased good-naturedly. The game was fun. Al was a good player. Dad and Uncle Ron had often played with him and James and some of their many cousins.

Shortly before they had to go back inside, Enrico and Vern joined them. Vern, being muggleborn, blended in fine, but Enrico had never even heard of soccer and they all had fun teaching him. By the end of the game – professor Patrona made a round on the lawn reminding all students of going inside for supper – Enrico had shot his first goal and was as proud as he could be.

The boys returned to their houses to wash and then went to the Great Hall for their evening meal.

The next day was spent lazily with catching up on a bit of homework and reading. In the evening the Halloween feast was to take place and nobody wanted to be tired before the fun began.

As the feast approached, the boys got ready. Al put on his goblin costume and Enrico and Vern ohed and ahed a lot. Al felt a bang of sadness. He wondered how Scorpius would have liked his costume. The ears alone had taken him two hours of work.

Enrico was a pumpkin, he looked cute indeed and blushed crimson when they told him so. "I told mum this was totally uncool!" the boy lamented.

"Nonsense," said Al. "A pumpkin costume is very appropriate for Halloween."

Enrico smiled, but he wasn´t really comforted until Vern showed the costume he had made with Hagrid. Vern was a zucchini. "Come on, mate," he grinned, "lets show them what vegetables are good for." He slapped Enrico´s back, causing him nearly to topple over.

"Hey, be careful," cried the boy happily, "I´m not sure I can get up on my own in this."

Al laughed. "The two of you are going to need three seats each!"

The three boys made their way to the Great Hall. Most of the Slytherins had put on Halloween costumes. There were vampires and banshees, cats and bats, more pumpkins, kings and queens, ghosts and werewolves.

When the three first years passed professor Slope´s office, the door was opened and the man emerged from the room. He wore black teaching robes, his face was painted a yellowish white and his usually shiny ponytail was gone in favor for a mat of greasy strands. He glared at his students and made his way upstairs. Due to the fact that he was walking faster than usual, his robes billowed behind him.

"What sort of costume is that?" Vern asked.

"He´s Severus Snape, former Head of Slytherin House and war hero," explained a seventh year vampire. "Professor Slope´s been working untiringly to polish up Slytherin´s image since he came to Hogwarts. Every year at Halloween he disguises as Snape in order to remind people that Slytherin had a part in the outcome of The War."

-x-

The Great Hall looked even more magical than usually. Swarms of bats were swooshing to and fro. Giant pumpkin lights were hung from the timberworks. The window panes had been transfigured – undoubtedly by the headmistress herself – to show scary little scenes in colourful glass. There was a werewolf attacking a scarecrow with a pumpkin head, a hag on a broom with a black cat on her shoulder and a mummy in bloody bandages on the windows behind the Head Table.

Most students donned costumes. The Slytherins weren´t the only ones and especially Gryffindor house hosted a number of scary creatures for the feast. There were zombies and mummies, vampires and werewolves, banshees and veelas, but also more harmless ones like house elves or goblins. Al noticed that the older the students got the scarier their costumes turned out. At the Ravenclaw table he even spotted a headless and he wondered how the student had done that. How much magic did you need to know for that and would he, Al, ever learn enough to do it?

Al wished Scorpius were there to discuss the question with, but he wasn´t. With a bang of guilt the boy remembered that his friend probably spent the evening at his grandmother´s sick-bed.

The feast was marvellous, even better than the start of term one. There were more sweets than then and many of the dishes were decorated fantastically in honour of the occasion.

The Hogwarts ghosts – not Severus Snape of course; Al wondered whether anybody but him even knew that Snape was a ghost – entertained the students after the feast. They came upstairs after dessert from the dungeons, where they had had – rumour had it – their own party before. They enacted a scary play in midair, a tragic love story with the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw as the heroin.

The ghosts were rewarded with a warm round of applause and they all bowed. There was a short commotion at the Gryffindor table, where a food battle broke out, but the teachers gained control quickly.

Al watched professor Slope as he helped clean up the younger Gryffindors. The man was very calm and determined and Al wondered whether he would be as relaxed in case his Slytherins had behaved like that.

After order was restored, Hagrid conducted a formation flight of the bats. The students clapped and cheered at the inspiring demonstration of skill and control. After a last looping the bats retired in the timberwork.

"Thank you, Hagrid, for this excellent show! It was a worthy end to our celebrations! Good night, children, good night!" cried the headmistress.

There was shuffling and happy chatter as the students left the hall. The prefects directed them towards their dormitories. When the file of Slytherins neared their Common Room there was some agitation.

"Somebody get professor Slope!" an older student cried.

The message was passed on to the rear end of the group. Al craned his neck, but he wasn´t close enough to the entrance to see what it was all about.

-x-

Professor Slope pushed his way past the students only minutes later.

"Wait here," he ordered the Slytherins as he passed them.

"I wonder what it is all about," said Vern. He and Enrico tried to see the reason for the jam, but although both of them were on the tall side for first years, they were too small to see past the older students in front of them.

They weren´t kept in the dark for long though, as their Head of House had them all assemble in the Common Room barely five minutes later. The students gasped as they entered the room.

The furniture had been upturned, the upholstery of the armchairs cut open. The walls were smeared with colourful ink and worst of all, the Slytherin banner above the fireplace was torn.

"We have been, it seems," said the professor severely, "the victims of a Halloween prank. The damage, though it looks bad, is not beyond repair, at least in a physical sense," he glanced at the ripped banner. "I checked the room for magical traps, but there are none. So you can use magic to clean up. I'll ask the upper years to do that."

Jonah and the other prefects took over and the professor left the Common Room after a quick good night.

Al and the other first years watched in awe as the seventh years repaired the damage with some quick spells.

"Who has done this?" Vern asked in a low voice as the older students settled down on the repaired armchairs and sofas.

"That's what we all want to know!" said a girl, whose name Al didn't know. She scrutinized the still torn Slytherin banner. Somehow it felt not right to repair it with a spell.

"It has to be the Gryffindors," cried a fifth year boy, Algernon Smith. "They hate us and that food battle was initiated to cover their departure!"

There was a murmuring of consent.

"And we all know how they knew the password!" cried a girl, Penelope Whatwashernameagain.

A thunderstruck Al found most of Slytherin House staring at him.

"I saw him with the Gryffindors only this afternoon!" Penelope went on.

"You can´t honestly believe that!" Al cried and tried to fight back the tears.

"I knew you were a spy!" a boy pointed out.

"What?" Al felt his eyes becoming moist.

"I told you from the beginning!" another boy joined in.

Al couldn´t take it any longer. He turned on his heel and ran.

-x-

The boy heard Vern and Enrico cry his name, but he didn´t stop or turn back. Tears wetted his cheeks and blurred his sight. His footsteps echoed in the empty corridors as he fled from the dungeons. On and on he ran without actually knowing where he was heading. He wanted to hide from the world.

He had worked so hard to proove that he was a true Slytherin, that he cared for the House and its reputation. He had won twenty-three points back within two months, which was – according to Jonah – quite an achievement for a first year. The youngest students, who were beginners at all subjects, usually didn´t contribute much to their house´s points, but provided moral support to their older housemates, especially the Quidditch team. Twenty-three points was more than most first years gained in a whole year.

But in the end it didn´t count. They mistrusted him, because he was Harry Potter´s son. Because his father and mother – along with every relativ he had – had been in Gryffindor.

The cool night air made Al shiver as he stepped through the door. He wiped his face with his hand and looked around. Without realizing it, he had run up to the Astronomy tower.

Al stepped to the rampart and tried to steady his breath. He was panting from running and sobbing at the same time. Little by little the boy managed to calm down until his sobs were reduced to occasional sniffs.

It was only when he had finally calmed down that he became aware of the beautiful sight that was the great lake. Somebody had put big pumpkin lanterns on the boats, which were used for the first years to approach the school. The little fleet was spread over the lake and as the water was smooth as a mirror, Al saw not only the boats, but also their reflections in the water. It was beautiful and a bit scary at the same time.

"I always liked the lake at Halloween," a soft voice said beside him. "Hagrid´s always coming up with a great way to decorate it. He hasn´t done the boat-lights in more than ten years. It´s my favourite."

Al started, but then he recognized the voice and found Severus Snape looking down at the lake beside him. The ghost hovered two feet above the ground in order to see better.

"So what do you think?" the ghost asked, averting his eyes from the lake and looking at the boy beside him.

Al didn´t answer as he didn´t trust his voice to not give away that he had been crying. Boys didn´t cry, did they? Especially sons of war heroes.

"Your face is all smeared, you know?" said Snape as it became obvious that Al was not going to answer. "That´s rather out of character for a goblin. When you wear a costume you have to act like the creature you´re dressed up as. It´s more interesting."

"I´m not sure I can pretend very well," sighed the boy.

"Of course you can. Or why do you have classes with the Slytherins? You´ve been sorted into my house, haven´t you?"

Al nodded. Fresh tears ran down his cheeks.

"Troubles with the house?" Snape asked.

Al stared at the lake, where the boats were gliding along to form a circle. "They don´t trust me," he whispered. "They think I gave our password to the Gryffindors."

"Did you?"

"Of course not!" Al was scandalized. Angrily he glared at the ghost beside him.

The ghost raised his arms in a defensive gesture. "I had to ask," he explained. "I won´t mistake you for a Hufflepuff."

"What?"

"You´re in Slytherin. You´ll seek an advantage if you think you can get one."

"Are you saying that Slytherins are traitors?"

"Not at all, not at all! But unlike the Hufflepuffs we don´t put loyalty before personal benefit."

Al got angrier and angrier. "And where, pray tell me, is my advantage in giving our password to a rival house? Do you think I´m stupid."

Snape grinned. "That would mean mistake you for a Gryffindor!"

Al giggled softly and hiccuped. For a while they watched the boats, which were now gliding along the lake in a star-shaped formation.

"Are you feeling better?" the ghost asked after a while.

Al nodded, but didn´t turn away from the marvellous sight below them.

"Why don´t you go back inside? You must be freezing."

"I can´t. I just can´t face them."

"But surely you have friends within the house! They will stick with you. What about the young Malfoy?"

"Scorpius´s not here. His gran is ill."

"Oh, I´m sorry to hear that Lady Narcissa´s not well."

"Scorpius was very upset," said Al. He wouldn´t even imagine how he´d feel if something was wrong with his Gran Molly. On the lake somebody – it must be Hagrid, Al thought – extinguished the boat lights. When the last light went out Al sat down against the ramparts and drew up his legs. He rested his forehead on his knees.

-x-

Al had no idea how long he had been sitting there. His knees were all wet for he had stopped fighting the tears when he had hidden his face.

"You´d better go back to your dormitory," someone – the ghost of Severus Snape – said softly beside him. "You´re cold."

Al shook his head.

"You´re freezing. Your fingers are blue."

The boy clenched his hands into fists in a useless attempt to warm his fingers that way.

"That won´t work," the ghost pointed out. "You have to go inside. Your housemates will be looking for you."

"They´ll be glad I´m gone!" cried Al, desperate. "They don´t like me! They´ll feel they´re better off without me!"

"Maybe," admitted Snape, "but they will be looking for you nevertheless. Slytherins are loyal to their house and whether they like it or not, you´re part of the house. You don´t want to keep them awake all night, do you?"

Al sniffed and wiped his face with his sleeve. "It won´t make things better," he said feebly.

"Certainly not," the ghost agreed. "You better go back and hurry."

Al got up and made ready to leave the tower. "Thanks for your advice," he said in a small voice before he opened the door to the staircase. He couldn´t know whether Snape had heard him. The ghost was floating in midair by Dumbledore´s tablet and looking over the lake.

-x-

The way to the dungeons seemed endless. Al had gone to a boy´s toilet to wash his face on the seventh floor and then headed downstairs. The further he approached Slytherin house, the slower he put one foot in front of the other. How could he face his housemates when they thought he had given away their password and enabled Gryffindor to mess up the Slytherin common room? He didn´t even dare to think whether the intruders had gone to the dormitories.

From time to time he heard a faint, distant voice call for him, but he never answered. Snape had been right. They were looking for him instead of sleeping.

"Here you are!"

Al started. It was Jonah, the prefect, who had found him just when he passed the infirmary.

"We were so worried!" Jonah went on. The boy pointed his wand at his throat and cried, his voice magically magnified, "I got him!" Another flick of his wand and his voice was back to normal.

"Dad, I mean Professor Slope, was so furious! He lectured the house severely about friendship and loyalty. Stebbins and Diggle confessed that they gossiped how they found the password funny during their Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Third years have Care of Magical Creatures with Gryffindor. The professor thinks that that was where they got the password."

They went downstairs in silence. Al felt a lot better. Slytherin House no longer thought he was a traitor. The culprits had been discovered.

They were just crossing the Entrance Hall, when Al stopped short.

"Professor Slope is your father?"

Jonah grinned awkwardly and nodded. "It isn´t exactly a secret, but we never make a song of it. Neither he nor I want anybody to treat me differently because of it. So I´d appreciate if you´d not make a fuss about it."

Al nodded. "I promise," he said sincerely. "It must have been exciting to join your Dad at Hogwarts."

Jonah grinned lopsidedly. "Actually I grew up at the castle," he admitted. "Haven´t you noticed that the nurse is Madam Slope?"

Al hadn´t as he hadn´t been ill so far. So Jonah had spent all his life at Hogwarts? Al wasn´t sure whether that was good or bad, but he had no time to think of it as they had reached the entrance to the Common Room and Jonah pushed him inside gently.

"Mr. Potter!" he was greeted by his Head of House, who looked sincerely relived. "We have been looking for you! You really shouldn´t have run away, when those false accusations were uttered." He shot angry looks at the surrounding students. It seemed that all of Slytherin House were assembled in the Common Room.

"I´m sorry, Sir. I didn´t mean to keep anybody out of bed," Al said in a small voice.

"Mr. Potter, it is very generous of you to apologize when it was you who has been done injustice," said Professor Slope.

The girl, who had suspected Al of being a spy for Gryffindor first, stepped forward. "I´m sorry, Albus," she said. "We all are." The students behind her nodded.

Al smiled shyly. He wasn´t sure what to say. It was Enrico, who saved him from the awkward silence. "Okay, okay," he said, "you apologized. Now let the man through, he´s had an upsetting evening and needs his rest!" He put his arm around Al´s shoulder and led his friend towards the first years´ dormitory, Vern in tow.

"Well," said Professor Slope, "it´s late and you have lessons to attend tomorrow. So to bed you go! Miss Stebbins, Miss Diggle, we´ll discuss your punishment in the morning, after breakfast. Jonah, good work."

The two girls went to bed with hanging heads and Jonah with a broad smile.

-x-

"Where were you?" asked Enrico as soon as Vern had closed the dorm room door on the three of them. "We were looking for you EVERYwhere!" He sat on his bed with an air of drama, collapsing back on his elbows as if he had run a marathon, not searched a castle for an hour or so.

"We even went down to the storerooms!" complained Vern. He sat on his bed, too, but without the dramatic effect.

"I´m sorry," piped Al. "I panicked. Some said I was a spy back in September and now they brought it up again and I felt nobody was going to believe I wasn´t."

"Don´t be silly!" Vern said sternly. "We all know how hard you work to win those points we lost the first day back for Slytherin. And besides, we are your friends! Of course we believe you!"

Al smiled shyly. "Thanks." He started dressing for bed. Professor Slope had been right. It was late and Al was very tired.

"You still didn´t tell where you were," Enrico pointed out when they were all in bed and the lights had extinguished.

Al hesitated. Should he tell about the ghost?

"On the Astronomy Tower," he said at last. "I watched the boats on the lake. It was very calming."


	6. The snowball incident

The next day started with a pleasant surprise. When Al entered the Great Hall for breakfast, he was greeted by a beaming Scorpius, who waved for him to come over from the Slytherin table.

"Scorp!" cried Al, "you´re back! How´s your grandmother doing?"

"Much better!" the blond reported happily. "Dad brewed a potion for her. First they thought it didn´t help, but then all of a sudden it did and the fever went down and the healers say that she´ll probably recover!"

"That´s good news," Al said with a broad smile. "I´m glad everything turned out well."

"Me, too," said Vern and Enrico from the other side of the table in unison.

The four boys ate breakfast in companionable silence. Al was happy to have his best friend back. The other two boys were his friends, too, but not as good friends as Scorpius. He could hardly wait to tell the other boy about yesterday´s adventure. For an adventure it was when viewed in broad daylight, without distress.

-x-

As Al wasn´t ready to tell Enrico and Vern about the ghost, he had to wait until he was alone with Scorpius. The four Slytherin first years spent all day together, as they had the same lessons, but after the last one, Enrico and Vern went outside – Enrico wanted to help Vern with his practical transfiguration homework – and Al and Scorpius headed to the library.

Scorpius had quite some catching up to do and Al lent him his notes and brought him the books he´d need from the library.

"I need a break!" sighed Scorpius and leaned back in his chair after he had copied Al´s Herbology notes and drawn a picture of a devil´s snare from one of the library books.

The librarian shot them an angry look and Scorpius quickly moved back toward the table and pretended to look into his book.

"I saw the ghost on the tower," whispered Al under his breath.

"Really?" Scorpius replied in awe. "A pity I never saw him! Did he shout at you again?"

"Actually no," said Al, glancing over to the librarian´s desk, "he saw that I was sad and he was really nice and helpful."

"Did you cry?"

Al hesitated to admit it, but if he couldn´t tell his best friend, he couldn´t tell anybody. He nodded.

Scorpius was very understanding. "I´d have, too, if they accused me of giving away the password. I´m glad that professor Slope found out who did it."

Al nodded, biting his lip. He wouldn´t even imagine what it´d be like if he was still suspected.

-x-

After supper the four Slytherins returned to the Common Room. Scorpius borrowed Vern´s transfiguration notes. As it was Vern´s worst subject and he was really anxious he was going to fail, he wrote down EVERYthing the professor said.

Penelope Stebbins and Pandora Diggle sat in a corner of the room and repaired the Slytherin banner, which had been destroyed by the Gryffindors, without magic. Sewing seemingly had never been part of their curiculum and they had a hard time completing their task.

"This will take ages!" complained Penelope.

"Look at my fingers," added Pandora.

First they were ignored by their housemates, but when they kept rambling how unjust and painful their punishment was, one of the seventh years spoke up.

"You deserve every bit of it!" the boy cried. "First you gave away our password due to pure imbecility and then you let an innocent housemate be accused of your mistake to cover up your stupidity. Now stop complaining and at least have the decency to accept your punishment with dignity. What sort of Slytherins are you?"

The girls blushed and Al couldn´t but smile. The fact that the girls were punished was balsam for his upset soul.

-x-

The first half of November was filled with hard work. It seemed that the teachers thought the students had to pay for the Halloween festivities by doing extra homework. Even professor Longbottom, who had been rather lenient with homework so far, assigned them longer essays than usual.

Al was even busier than the other first years as Scorpius was still behind because of his absence and Al felt obliged to help his friend.

Al was very pleased that from time to time housemates came to ask, whether he needed assistance. It seemed they wanted to make up for the cold atmosphere of mistrust he had had to endure in the past.

At mealtimes, he and his friends no longer sat at the end of the table, but with the other Slytherins. The older students included them in their conversations save those about advanced magic, which were beyond the first years´ understanding.

As November wore on, Al found that he finally knew the names of his housemates and although the latter´s attempts to get in touch with him became less frequent, he felt more at home in Slytherin than ever before.

-x-

November dissolved into December and the weather became cold and stormy. One morning the students awoke to find the grounds covered in snow.

"What do you think," asked Vern, "our first lesson´s Herbology, but we can´t go to the greenhouse in this weather, can we?"

"Right you are, Mr. Parker," said professor Slope from behind the boys. "Due to the weather your herbology lesson has to be cancelled. Professor Longbottom needs to make sure that all plants in his greenhouses are properly protected against the cold. So you have a free period. I expect you to behave."

"Professor," asked Enrico, "are we allowed to go outside and play in the snow?"

The professor thought about it. "I can´t see why not," he said at last, "but make sure you´re not late for your next lesson or the privileg will not be granted again."

The boys promised to remember the time and soon the Slytherin first years were on their way to the lawn.

-x-

The girls were for building snowmen, but the boys favored a snowball fight. Soon all four of them were immersed in a fierce battle, which became even worse, when the girls decided that it looked fun and abandoned their snowman to join the fight.

They started the muggle way, but soon spells were used to hover snow over a victim´s head and drop it or to melt away the opponents´ amunition in midair.

Within less than half an hour all Slytherin first years were soaked in cold water and nobody objected when Jenny McCauldron suggested to go inside and change before Charms.

"Well, look who´s playing in the snow," a tall boy, wearing the Gryffindor crest boldly, said as the group approached the main entrance. Al thought that the boy was at least a fifth year, maybe even a NEWT student. Four more Gryffindors stepped out from behind some bushes. "Do you mind us joining the battle?" the tall boy went on.

The Slytherins exchanged fearful glances. How were they supposed to withstand students who knew so much more magic than they did? The Gryffindors definitely didn´t look like they were looking for a _friendly_ battle.

The first years had barely time to prepare before the older boys attacked. They needed help. Desperately.

"Jenny run!" cried Al and returned the attack to the best of his abilities.

Jenny and the others understood. All Slytherins – except Jenny – joined the fight and Jenny slipped past their opponents into the castle.

She must have found fellow Slytherins right behind the doors, as it was mere seconds until help arrived. Jonah and his friends left the castle and started casting spells at the Gryffindors from afar, not caring to use snow.

Al only recognized a jelly leg jinx, but the Gryffindors were hit by more than that. One fell to the ground and couldn´t stop laughing and another´s teeth grew at admirable speed.

Unfortunately this was not the end of the hostilities as more Gryffindors and more Slytherins came out of the castle – it must be the break between the first and second period – and added their bit of magic to the mess.

-x-

"ACCIO WANDS!"

Saying that Professor Slope looked furious would be an understatement. The man looked ready to commit murder. He caught what must be three dozens of wands in a big sack and glared at the assembled students.

"Gryffindors, report to your Head of House! Give her a full report of what happened here." He ordered. "Slytherins, follow me!"

The professor led the way towards the dungeons, but didn´t care to go all the way to Slytherin House. Instead he guided his charges – some looked guilty, most defiant, but all looked anxious – inside the first empty classroom he found.

"OUT!" the professor barked at Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.

The poltergeist looked sulky, but when he saw the crowd of dirty, wet students, some of whom were bleeding from small wounds, he grinned broadly.

"Oh, ickle Slytherins are in trouble!" he chanted as he left the room as slowly as the professor would allow him.

"Never! Never before have I been so ashamed of my house!" the professor snapped at the students.

The youths ducked under the verbal assault. It was Jonah, who dared to speak up.

"Sir," he said, "we didn´t start the fight."

"Silence!" spat the professor. "You were behaving like common brawlers! You´re a shame for the proud house of Salazar Slytherin!" He paced in front of his students.

Al´s heart sank. He remembered how many points the professor had deduced for their fight the first day. And this time there were nearly thirty housemates involved! Slytherin´d stay in the negative points for decades to come!

Jonah wasn´t ready to give up so easily. "Sir!" he insisted, "they were beating up our first years!"

Professor Slope stopped in his track and turned to face the crowd of students.

"Potter! Is that true?"

Al swallowed hard. "We were playing outside. When we had half an hour left before Charms we headed inside to change into dry clothes for the lesson. The Gryffindors wouldn´t let us pass and they started a fight. We only got Jenny past them to go for help."

The professor glared at Jenny.

"I met Jonah and his friends in the Entrance Hall," the girl piped.

"And you knew nothing better than start a brawl!" Al thought that the professor looked a bit calmer.

"Sir, they were four sixth years against our first years. There was no time to get a teacher!" Jonah defended their course of action.

"No points will be taken at the moment being," professor Slope said after a little while. "I need to confere with Professor McGonagall first. You´ll all meet me in this classroom after dinner, where I´ll decide what to do. Now run along, you´ve missed enough of your lessons." He waved his wand at the group of students and Al found that his robes were suddenly warm and dry.

-x-

"Professor McGonagall reassured me that it was her students who started the trouble. They have been punished."

The Slytherins smiled. The sudden lack of gems in the Gryffindor hourglass hadn´t escaped their notice at supper.

"However, you should have known better than to brawl!" The Slytherin Head of House scolded his students. "As you acted in defence of your housemates, the headmistress insists that no points will be taken. But you will serve detention. The headmistress will supervise you herself."

The smiles on the students faces froze. Professor McGonagall was a Gryffindor! Professor Slope was handing them over to the enemy!

-x-

There was a knock at the door and the headmistress entered. Professor Slope greeted her with a polite nod.

"I´ll take over, professor," the headmistress said gently.

With a final glare at his students the Slytherin head of house left the classroom. The young Slytherins looked at the headmistress defiantly.

"Do sit down," said the witch.

Reluctantly the students obeyed.

"Your head of house is disgusted with your behaviour," the woman informed the group. "You entered a fight without second thought to help your housemates. – Being the Gryffindor that I am I can´t but approve of that behaviour."

Several of the girls gasped. The Slytherins exchanged puzzled looks. Al was bewildered. Professor McGonagall was a nice teacher. Why was she mocking them now?

"If you approve, Ma´am, why are we serving detention?" asked Jonah, who continued speaking for the group.

"Because your head of house insists you have to be punished." McGonagall waved her wand and plates of biscuits appeared on the desks in front of the students. "You will help me sample the new biscuit recipes the elves have tried out."

None of the Slytherins moved.

"Well?" The old witch watched the students expectantly.

Jonah glared at the biscuits in front of him as if he expected them to attack. "Professor," he said, "this is not an appropriate punishment. We don´t deserve cookies for acting like Gryffindors when we´re Slytherins."

"Mr. Slope, what you need to understand is that the fact that certain qualities are highly esteemed within one house does not mean other houses don´t possess them. You won´t stop thinking, because the Sorting Hat says it puts the clever into Ravenclaw, or stop working, because the hardworking go to Hufflepuff. So why do you think being brave at heart is unbecoming for a Slytherin? When you think about it, you will see that we all share the same qualities. We only differ in which are our most prominent."

The Slytherins bit their lips. Al looked around to see what his older housemates did. Personally, he thought that the professor had a point.

"If you don´t eat these cookies, you´ll make one hundred house elves unhappy." Professor McGonagall smiled at them.

Slowly Jonah bit into a biscuit and the others followed his lead.


	7. Christmas

The mood in Slytherin House was better than ever as December went on. The ´snowball incident´ as the students called it, had resulted in Gryffindor falling behind Slytherin in the race for the House Cup. Although none of the Slytherins believed that they´d win the Cup – Ravenclaw was in the lead after beating Hufflepuff in the only autumn quidditch match – they were confident to not end up last.

Christmas was approaching fast. Hagrid was seen with giant Christmas trees – the decoration for the Great Hall according to James – and the house elves started serving gingerbread for dessert.

And then Al had his trunk packed and sat in a compartement on the Hogwarts express with his friends on his way home for the holidays.

-x-

Al said good bye to his friends when the steam engine pulled the train into the station. He found his brother as the students queued up to leave the train and they stepped onto the platform right one after the other.

"James! Al!" Lily bumped into her big brothers and was caught in a double hug. "Al, you have to tell me everything about Hogwarts! Is it like James said?" The girl dragged the two boys over to where their parents were waiting.

Al greeted his mother first. After not having her seen for months, he thought that an embrace was in order, even though it was in public and therefore – strictly speaking – uncool. James hugged his father first. Then the boys changed parents and Al burried his nose in his Dad´s robes.

"Why didn´t you tell me?" he asked feebly. "I was so confused! I still am!"

"I made a mistake," whispered his father. "We´ll talk at home. Not here."

Al nodded. The promise to talk was all he needed at that moment.

"So, do tell, pumpkin, how was your first term?" asked Mum happily, while Dad went to the train to get the boys´ luggage.

"Great," beamed Al. "I learned loads! And I found friends! But," he hung his head, "I´m in Slytherin."

"We know!" laughed Mum good-naturedly, "and we´re all proud of you. Although I have to admit that your uncle Ron fainted when he first heard about it."

Al paled. Uncle Ron was his favorite! Didn´t he like him any longer?

"I´m only teasing you," grinned Mum, "uncle Ron wants to know whether they redecorated the Slytherin Common Room since he visited there."

Al was puzzled. His uncle had visited the Slytherin Common Room? His family had more secrets than possible!

-x-

Dad came back after only a few minutes. He levitated the boys´ trunks in front of him and set them down on a trolley that stood behind Mum. Lily hopped around her father excitedly, informing him that she could hardly wait to learn such a useful piece of magic that was the levitation charm.

"Al," she babbled happily, "did you learn how to levitate things?"

"Yes, and I´m good at it," declared Al proudly.

"Can you show me?" The little girl´s eyes twinkled mischieveously.

"No! We´re not allowed!" Al was scandalized.

"Haha!" Lily mocked her brother good-naturedly.

Al laughed. She had used the same trick on James the year before. Oh, he had missed his little sister and he only saw now, how much.

Dad pushed the trolley towards the barrier, Lily continued her hopping dance around him and Al joined her in what he hoped was a dignified way to hop around an adult. Mum and James followed some steps behind them, absorbed in a conversation about racing-brooms. James had become the Gryffindor reserve seeker some weeks ago and he thought he´d do better, if he had his own broomstick.

"Hi Al!"

Al stopped hopping and turned to face Vern, who had been greeting him cheerfully. The other boy pushed his own trolley with a helping hand from a tall blonde woman, who must be his mother.

"Hi Vern," Al replied, "Mum, Dad, Lily, this is my friend and dorm mate, Vern Parker."

The Potters greeted Vern with friendly smiles and Dad extended his hand to the blonde woman beside the boy. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Parker, I assume. I´m Harry Potter, Al´s father."

Mrs. Parker returned the smile and handshake. "I saw you levitate the trunks, Mr. Potter," she said, "I was very impressed. I never heard of magic until last July and I´m still not used to the thought, seeing that Vern is the only wizard in the family and our only contact to the magical world."

Dad smiled. "You´ll get used to it, especially when your son is older and allowed to perform magic at home."

Soon the adults were absorbed in a discussion of muggle relations. Al lost track all too soon and instead talked with Vern.

"Didn´t your Dad come to pick you up?" he asked.

"Didn´t find a parking space so quickly," grinned Vern, "but he´s here. Mum says we´re to meet him in front of the station."

The small group walked through the barrier to the muggle world and through the station towards the main gates of King´s Cross.

Dad stopped short as he spotted the large blond man, who stood on the pavement.

"Vern!" the man in question rushed to the boy and embraced him in a fierce hug. "How are you son? How was your term? You have to tell me everything!"

"Everything was great!" cried Vern happily as he returned the hug. "You have to meet my friend Al and his family!"

Vern´s father straightened up. It was only now that he saw the group his son and wife had come with. The blond swallowed hard. "Harry!" he whispered.

-x-

Al and Vern´s eyes darted to and fro between their gaping fathers and Al stared in disbelief when the two men finally moved to hug each other.

"Dudley!" cried Dad happily. "They wouldn´t tell me where you went!"

"And they wouldn´t pass my letters on to you," replied Vern´s dad.

"We have to meet," stated Dad and held the other man at arm´s length to have a look at him. "I´m sure you have as much to tell as I."

Vern´s dad rummaged in his pocket and produced a card, which he gave to Dad.

"Great," said Dad, "I´ll call you after Christmas and we can meet while the boys are at home. I´m sure they´ll have nothing against a meeting during the holidays."

The boys nodded enthusiastically.

After a short farewell the two families parted and Dad led the Potter family to their car, a turquoise Japanese. All the Potters´ cars Al could remember had been turquoise, as were all the Weasleys´. Mum said it had been Uncle Fred´s favourite colour.

-x-

Al was desperate to know how his Dad came to know Vern´s, but he knew better than to distract Dad while he drove in the dense London traffic. Luckily Lily was there to entertain the boys and soon the three siblings where happily singing "Old McDonald had a farm" in the back seat.

It wasn´t before they had reached the countryside and Lily had tucked at James´ side tiredly that Al asked his question.

"Dad, how come you know Vern´s father?"

Dad´s eyes met Al´s in the rearview mirror. "He´s my cousin."

Al stared in disbelief. "You have a muggle cousin?"

Dad chuckled. "Why not? You know that your grandma Lily was muggleborn."

Of course Al knew that. They all knew that grandma Lily had been an exceptional gifted muggleborn witch, who had died young. Lily – Al´s sister – never tired of hearing stories about how bright and beautiful the woman, for whom she was named, had been. But until now Al had never thought that a muggleborn grandmother brought more muggle relatives.

"Do we have more muggle relations?" he asked curiously.

Dad shook his head. "Dudley, your friend´s father, and his parents are the only ones left and I don´t know whether his parents are still alive. I´ll have to ask him." Al thougth that Dad looked more serious all of a sudden.

-x-

When they arrived at home, Dad levitated the boys´ trunks to their rooms. Mum went to the kitchen to tell Kreacher, their house elf, that they were home and dinner could be served. Al went to search for Nostradamus, his cat. It lay on his pillow. Al smiled. Lily must have put the cat into Al´s room to wait for him.

Nostradamus stretched luxuriously when Al approached him and jumped to the floor gracefully. He miaowed and rubbed against his owner´s legs. Al bent down to pat the cat. Then he returned to the dining room. Kreacher´d be upset, if he wasn´t there on time for dinner.

-x-

The meal was delicious, as always when Kreacher cooked. Not that Al minded Mum cooking – nobody taught by Gran Molly could be a bad cook – but Kreacher was better. The main course was spaghetti bolognese, James´ favourite dish. Al was happy about that, because it meant he´d probably get his favourite chocolate cake for dessert.

"Dad," Al asked while he tried to reel in a forkful of the long noodles, "how come we never saw your cousin before?"

Dad chewed his mouthful of spaghetti diligently and Al could tell he was trying to decide how much to tell and where to start.

"You heard at Hogwarts," Dad said at last, "that I fought an evil wizard when I was younger."

"You finished him off!" cried James.

Mum chuckled.

"I finished him off," admitted Dad. "Well, the evil wizard, his name was Voldemort, attacked me and my parents when I was a baby. My parents, your grandparents James and Lily, died protecting me. The evil wizard was nearly destroyed, but I had to go and live with the only relatives I had left."

"The muggles," whispered Al breathlessly.

"Exactly. My aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon. They had a son, who was only some weeks older than I, Dudley. When I was fourteen, the evil wizard returned and when I was seventeen, my relatives became targets as well. The Order of the Phoenix – that was a group of people, who fought Voldemort – hid them when things became too dangerous. As not all followers were caught when the evil wizard died, they couldn´t go back home and nobody ever told me, where they were. My face was too well known in the wizarding world and if I visited, I´d have drawn attention to their hiding place. Well, it wasn´t so bad, I wasn´t eager to see my aunt and uncle."

Mum tsked at Dad, and he forced a smile. "Cousin Dudley, though, was okay. I´d have liked to see him again."

Al had a feeling that there was more to that story, but he´d have to wait to find out.

-x-

The next days were busy with Christmas preparations. Al spent a whole morning making candy apples with Kreacher and Reggy, Kreacher´s son. The young elf was as old as James and he was eagerly learning how to serve his masters. As long as Al remembered, Reggy had been following his mother, Winky, helping her clean the house. Apparently he had decided to follow in his father´s footsteps for cooking.

Kreacher explained patiently to his son how to charm the pot for the sugar. He supervised Reggy and took care that Al didn´t burn his fingers with the hot caramel at the same time. Nevertheless it was he, who produced the most shiny apples. No need to mention twice as many as the two young ones together.

Mum was busy getting presents for the family and Dad worked overtime in order to catch somebody called "the Grinch". Al wondered how that person managed to escape every year.

Most days Gran Molly or one of their uncles apparated to the Potters´ house to look after the children. Al enjoyed spending time with his Gran, but uncle George was his favourite. He came the very day before Christmas every year. Uncle George was – in Al´s opinion – the most funny person in the world, though he insisted that his twin Fred had been funnier. Al wondered what it must have been like when the two pulled a prank together.

Christmas Eve passed quickly and with much laughter and then it was Christmas.

-x-

Al woke to Lily´s delighted shrieks.

"James! Al! Come quickly! Santa´s been here!"

Al threw back his duvet and put on his slippers on his way to the door. In the corridor he met James, who was in his pyjamas, too, and looked as sleepy and tousled as Al felt.

"Tell me, little brother," yawned James as they headed downstairs at a run, "were we ever up that early?"

Al grinned. He remembered only too well how James had woken the whole family when it was still dark outside when he was six.

They met Mum and Dad, in their morning gowns, on the stairs and together they went to the dining room, where their Christmas tree was every year.

Lily hopped up and down in anticipation like a rubber ball. Her eyes twinkled madly and she clapped her hands. "Hurry!" she cried happily, "Santa left even more presents than last year!"

Lily was right. The Potter children always got many presents as they had a very big family, but this year the pile of presents seemed even larger than usually.

Dad called for Kreacher, Winky and Reggy to join them, as it was family tradition. The elf family appeared with a loud crack. Al was impressed when he noticed that Reggy didn´t need his parents to assist him any longer. The elves were dressed in freshly laundered pillowcases, which they wore as proudly as royal cloaks.

"Okay," said Mum, "you know the rules. One present each and the rest will be opened when the family´s gathered."

The children stepped closer to the tree and Al tried to see, which presents were for him. At last he settled for a box wrapped in blue. It was square, about the size of a shoebox and Al had no idea what was in it. The boy always went for a surprise on Christmas morning.

Lily chose a parcel wrapped in pink and James went for a long parcel in red. It was big enough to fit in a broom.

While the children started unwrapping their gifts, Dad gave Kreacher and his family their presents and thanked them for their excellent work. Kreacher gave Dad the presents the elves had made for their masters in exchange. Al liked Kreacher´s presents as they always contained some of his favorite homemade biscuits.

Al interrupted his work on his box to see what the elves had gotten from Mum and Dad.

Winky had got a new blanket for the elves´ room. It was blue with tiny white flowers and Winky squealed with delight. Reggy got a box of nuts, which were his favourite treat and Kreacher got what Al thought was an ugly silver goblet. The elf, however, didn´t think it was ugly, but threw himself in Dad´s arms and howled with joy.

"Master! It´s a piece of the missing Black family service! Thank you, Master Harry! Kreacher thought it was lost forever, when that filthy thief took it!"

"You´re welcome, Kreacher," smiled Dad, "I found it during a raid."

Al knew that Kreacher collected something he called "the Black family service", but to the boy it rather seemed an assortment of ugly, old silver dishes. Kreacher spent hours cleaning them and while he worked on it, he sported an expression usually reserved for Winky.

As the elves had gotten their presents, Al resumed opening his blue box. He beamed at his parents, when he saw what was in it. It was a Slytherin banner, the sort his housemates used to cheer their house team on during Quidditch matches. Al took it from the box reverentially. It was beautiful.

"Thanks, Mum and Dad!" the boy cried. "I can use it for Quidditch as long as I´m not on the team." He was going to apply next year. After all he was the son of two excellent seekers. One professional and the other only at Hogwarts, but only due to the fact that he had turned down several offers to play when he left school.

"You´re welcome, dear," smiled Mum. "You can also use it to decorate your dorm or your room at home."

While Al thought about the possibilities, Lily won her fight against the bow on her parcel and cheered when she uncovered the doll she had wanted for months.

James´ parcel indeed contained a broomstick and Al just hoped the broad grin on his brother´s face wasn´t permanent.

After the family had unpacked the presents they had gotten from the elves – biscuits like every year – everybody got prepared for the traditional Weasley Family Christmas Reunion. Kreacher and his family retreated to the kitchen, Mum and Dad prepared the table and the children tidied up the house, which meant they cleared away the toys they had let lying about the previous evening.

-x-

The first guests arrived shortly after lunch (everbody had had some sandwiches) and were Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur. Gran Molly brought a huge cake, like she did every year, no matter whose turn it was to host the Reunion.

Kreacher, being an excellent cook and pastry-cook himself, looked a bit disgruntled, but accepted the cake into his kitchen gracefully.

The grandparents admired Al´s new banner with smiles.

"You´ll be the best Slytherin in the family," beamed Granpa.

Al looked scandalized. "Stop having me on, Granpa. I´m the only Slytherin in the family."

The grandfather ruffled Al´s hair lovingly. "You´ll be as good a Slytherin as everybody else is a Gryffindor," he smiled. "And we´ll all be proud of you!"

Uncle George was the next to arrive. He, too, commented on Al being in Slytherin. "We have our private little snake now," he laughed.

"Indeed," agreed Uncle Ron, who was just stepping out of the fireplace. "And that green" – he pointed at the banner, which Al wore like a stole – "goes really well with your eyes. Pity you were in Gryffindor, Harry!" Uncle Ron greeted Dad with a playful smack on his shoulder.

Auntie Mione stepped out of the fireplace after her husband, Hugo and Rose holding on to her robes. "Hi, everybody," she greeted the family cheerfully and went to Mum, to see whether she needed help with anything.

Hugo and Rose joined Al and his siblings and they admired the presents the Potter children had already unwrapped. Hugo and Rose had been allowed only one present in the morning as well – their Dad had brought the rest to open them after dinner. Rose had got a muggle enzyclopedia, which she hadn´t brought with her to show, obviously. Hugo was now owner of a brandnew toy wand, which emitted red and gold sparks when waved, and as proud as he could be.

The next half hour brought an onslaught of more guests. Uncles Charlie and Bill, with Aunts Brenda and Fleur. Their children, all redhaired and true Weasleys. Uncle Percy and Aunt Penelope and their son Mike. And last, but not least, Teddy Lupin, Dad´s godson, and his grandmother, Gran Dromeda.

Dad had enlarged the living room to seat them all. Kreacher and Winky had outdone themselves and soon the table was full of delicious dishes. The family was seated around it and everybody was chewing happily. Kreacher had to force himself to stop looking whether anything was needed. Al could tell it was not easy for the elf. The Potter family tradition was that Kreacher and his family ate with the humans at the table at Christmas. The elves, the children had been told, had to be persuaded in the beginning and only agreed to eat with the family at Christmas in exchange for the promise that they didn´t have to at other occasions.

Everybody enjoyed the meal and the elves got a lot of praise for their cooking. Reggy smiled contently, but Kreacher and Winky seemed to feel rather awkward about it.

When the plates were cleared away – by the humans, in exchange they didn´t help with the washing – Dad said the word all the children were waiting for.

"Presents!"

-x-

It was a battle of bows and wrapping paper. The crowd of Weasley children (Al always found it a little odd that he and his siblings were the only ones with a different surname) dove into the heap of presents and tossed parcels open, though not without checking whether the present at hand was intended for the person about to unwrap it.

Al got a Quidditch book, a box of Weasley´s finest jokes – "As you are in Slytherin I put in some of the more vicious ones," said Uncle George – , a Weasley jumper (green with a snake), a potions book (Auntie Mione), several boxes of sweets, some boardgames, a dragonhide belt (Uncle Charlie), more clothes, some adventure books and last but not least a drawing made by Lily. Nostradamus was in it and somebody (Mum?) had charmed it to move.

James had given Al two chocolate frog cards. Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. "Had I known you´d really be sorted into Slytherin, I´d never have teased you about it." James said in a small voice. Al smiled. He just hoped that James liked the quill he had ordered for him with Dad´s help.

After every present had been unpacked, the children played with their new toys. Al joined Rose and James in a geography quiz. Of course Rose won, but Al and James were close and in the end James had only one point more than Al.

The adults took their coffee (the women) and liquors (most of the men) and the women showed off the jewelry many of them had gotten. Al thought the whole jewelry thing was rather pointless. It was the beautiful women who got the jewelry, but they were already beautiful, so what was the point in giving them something decorative.

His father and uncles roared with laughter when he asked.

"You´re a clever boy, Al," cried Uncle Percy. Aunt Penelope didn´t look like she agreed on that. She clutched her new pendant in her right hand and glared at her husband.

-x-

The celebrations went on and on and it was very late when Al finally went to bed. He was glad that the Reunion had been at their house this year. Flooing home would be all Al needed when he was that tired.

The next day Al was woken by the clattering of china.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said Dad as he sat down the breakfast tray on Al´s bedside table. "I thought we´d have our little talk today, as everybody is too lazy for anything anyway."

Al sat up and Dad helped him arrange the pillow against the headboard so that Al could lean back comfortably. Al picked up his steaming cup of cocoa.

"What do you want to know, son?"

Al was lost for words. Where to start? He had so many questions! "Are you really a war hero, Dad? And why didn´t you tell me? Did Mum fight too? And Uncle Ron and the others? Was that how Uncle Fred died? And what about Dumbledore and Snape?"

Dad thought about it for a while. "I´ll tell you the whole story and when I´m finished you can ask. How about that?"

Al nodded and took another sip of cocoa.

"You see," Dad started, "my parents, your grandparents, were killed by Voldemort – the most evil wizard there ever was – when I was a baby, but I survived. There was some complicated magic involved, I´ll explain that when you´re older, but people thougth I had won over him and I became a hero. I grew up with my muggle relatives. Your friend´s father is my cousin. And I had no idea about wizards and magic and that I was famous. When I returned to our world, everybody knew about me and they stared at me all the time and expected me to do heroic things. I hated it. That´s why I thought my own children shouldn´t suffer the same and kept them away from the public and the whole hero business. But in the end I put you in the same situation as I was. People know more about your family than yourself. I´m sorry. It was a mistake."

"So you are a hero?"

Dad nodded. "I killed Voldemort in the end. If that makes me a hero, I am one."

"Wow!"

"It´s nothing I´m too proud of, really. I killed a man because he gave me no choice. He was determined to kill me to prove he was more powerful than I. And I had loads of help, especially from Uncle Ron and Auntie Mione."

"So they´re heroes, too?"

"Perhaps even more than I am. I did what I did, because I had no choice. They had one, but came with me nevertheless."

"But they´re not as famous."

"No."

They sat silent for a while and Al nibbled his buttered bread with strawberry jam.

"Did Uncle Fred die, because he fought the Evil Wizard?"

Dad nodded and for a moment he looked very sad, even pained. "He was killed in the final battle," he explained. "Of all people, who were there, I´d never have guessed Fred to die. He was so optimistic and cheerful. So alive."

Al swallowed hard. He had been told numerous times how wonderful his uncle had been, but hearing it from Dad during the most serious conversation Al had had in his life, made it even more painful that he hadn´t known Uncle Fred. Al had to fight back tears and he covered them by taking another sip of cocoa. He had to change topic or he´d cry.

"Dad, what about Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, the men I was named for?"

"Well, Dumbledore was a famous wizard. Very powerful. He lead the forces of Light in the War. He was respected and had much influence. Many wanted him to become Minister, but he prefered his position at Hogwarts. He was my mentor and guide for six years. He tought me much of what I needed to survive. He died during my sixth year at Hogwarts."

"Is it true that Snape killed him?"

Dad nodded pensievely.

Al gasped. "You named me for a murderer?"

"It was a plan. Dumbledore was dying anyway and killing him would strenghten Snape´s position. Snape was a spy for the Light." Dad sighed. "He pretended to be a spy for Voldemort, but he worked for Dumbledore all the time. Everybody mistrusted him, me too. Being a spy forced him to live a lonely life, with no friends or family, but he endured it for nearly twenty years. In the end he died, killed by Voldemort mere hours before it was over. He spent his last breath giving me information. He died believing that I hated him. Knowing that I hated him. I did at the time. I was so wrong."

Dad´s voice had become lower and lower as he spoke. He hung his head and Al wondered whether it was in grief or in shame.

"He´s at Hogwarts."

"What?" Dad straightened up with a jerk.

"Severus Snape haunts the Astronomy Tower."

"I was sure he had gone on! Why would he stay behind?"

"He won´t tell. He´s a bit touchy concerning this topic."

"Why didn´t anyone tell me about him? The headmistress, Hagrid, Neville!"

"I don´t think they know," Al said pensievely. "There are only rumours that there is a ghost on the tower, but nobody seems to be sure. But me."

"You talked to him?"

"Yes, several times."

"Can you pass on a message to him, son?"

Al nodded. "What is it?"

"Thank you!"


	8. A visit and a message

Dad called his cousin the next day and the Parkers came to visit two days before the New Year. Dad apparated to their home and connected their fireplace to the floo network. Vern stepped out of the fireplace first, then came his mother and last his father. Dad followed a moment later.

Kreacher had prepared a light meal, sandwiches and tea.

For a while the five Potters and three Parkers ate in silence. Al and Vern exchanged excited looks. So Vern was now Al´s cousin! Al could hardly wait to tell the others.

"Now, Dudley," Dad said finally, "tell me, where were you all those years?"

Vern´s father cleared his throat. "They took us to a safe house from Privet Drive. Dad drove for some miles and the plan was that we´d apparate from there. You can imagine Dad wasn´t delighted to leave his car behind."

Dad snorted and Cousin Dudley smirked.

"He quarreled with the wizard who was in charge, but then we were attacked and the wizard nearly died defending us. We only narrowly escaped. That was when Dad realized that he had been wrong about wizards. Some were evil and some were good, just like with non-magical people. He was very sorry how he treated you, Harry."

Dad swallowed hard.

"We went into hiding. They changed our names. We became the Parkers. For some years, I even was Peter instead of Dudley."

"Why was that?"

"Because Harry Potter had no connection to any muggle called Peter. When we were told we could at least have our first names back, I chose to. Mum´s still using Cynthia. She says she got used to it. Dad wanted his name back. It was after Vern was born. Muriel and I" – he took his wife´s hand in his – "wanted to name our son for Dad, but we didn´t dare use Vernon. So it was Vern. Dad was so proud. Only he was known as Andrew then, so nobody knew we had named his grandson for him. No wonder he changed his name back when he could." Cousin Dudley smiled. "He died three years ago. He knew that Vern was magical and he was proud. You´d never have guessed that, eh?"

Dad shook his head, grinning. "Never."

"And you? What happened to you, after we parted?"

Dad hesitated. "It took me nearly a year and many lives were lost, but I rid the world of Voldemort," he said at last. "After that I had a quite quiet life. Got a job, married the girl I loved, started a family. James and Lily are named for my parents, Albus for a fatherly friend."

"Wasn´t that old guy who came to fetch you back then called Albus?"

"I forgot! You knew him!"

James signalled his brother to come and the four children went to the sofa to play one of the games Al had gotten for Christmas and let their fathers revel in memories.

-x-

Before the boys went back to Hogwarts, Dad urged the fact upon them that – for the Parker family´s safety´s sake – their relation had to remain a secret.

"The Parkers are muggles," Dad said sternly. "If a malevolent witch or wizard goes after them, they´re completely defenseless. So better not make them a target."

"Do you think being related to you would put them in danger?" James asked curiously.

"I´m not sure," said Dad and Mum squeezed his hand, "I´d like to say no, but I can´t. There may still be some people out there who resent my killing Voldemort. Better be safe than sorry. Nobody can know that the Parkers are related to us. Not even your friends."

The boys nodded and Mum and Dad smiled contently.

-x-

Term started with an increasing workload. It seemed that their teachers thought the students had to pay for their holidays by doing extra homework.

The Slytherin first year boys spent more evenings at the library than elsewhere. Al and Vern kept their secret, exchanging a knowing smile from time to time. Scorpius had come back from home cheerful, as his grandmother had recovered and had spent loads of time with him during the holidays.

"Italy is great," Enrico informed them on the way to the Astronomy Tower one Wednesday evening. "It was warm for the season and the seaside was beautiful." The boy had visited his Italian relatives for the first time.

"Speaking of warm," complained Scorpius as they walked up the last staircase. He rubbed his hands to warm them a bit. Nobody was looking forward to that Astronomy lesson. It was icy outside and they all had hoped that the professor would go for a theory lesson in a cosy classroom.

For Al things were as always. He didn´t like Astronomy. He had difficulties making out the stars and although he had gotten glasses – only for reading and stargazing – things were as bad as ever. He didn´t find the glasses helpful at all.

The only interesting thing about the Astronomy Tower was, in Al´s mind, the fact that Severus Snape was up there. Al hoped he´d have an opportunity to pass on Dad´s message soon. The ghost was moody and sometimes mean, but Al felt he didn´t deserve to think that Dad hated him when it wasn´t true.

The rest of the class was already there, waiting for the professor. The children hopped up and down and batted their arms around themselves to keep warm. Hadn´t it been for the fact that he himself froze, Al´d have thought it funny how they all kept moving, everyone a trail of mist above their head. The mist thing was bad, the boy noticed all too soon as the moisture caught in his scarf and soon the latter was no longer warming, but wet and cold.

The professor entered the platform right at midnight. She, in contrary to her students, looked warm and cozy and it took Al a while to realize that she, in contrary to her students, knew how to cast a warming spell. The woman handed out sheets of parchment.

Oh no! Not another chart to fill in! Al hated those. As he had difficulties seeing the stars, it always took him longer than his classmates. Luckily the professor usually let him stay behind to complete his tasks, but given tonight´s temperatures, this was not going to be fun.

Soon everybody was absorbed in their task. The professor strode from telescope to telescope in order to help.

Al worked slowly, but diligently. By the end of the lesson he needed only two more stars. The problem was he didn´t think he´d be able to move his fingers any longer.

Professor Sinistra nodded when he asked for permission to stay a little longer. Scorpius and the others glanced at Al pityingly, but made no move to stay behind. Not that the professor´d let them anyway.

-x-

As soon as the others had left, Al started looking around to see whether Snape was there. The ghost had shown up several times, but not after each lesson. Today it seemed he wasn´t there.

Al sighed and resumed his work. He had just found his last but one star when he heard the by then wellknown voice.

"Another exception for a Potter, eh?"

Al straightened and turned. "Nasty again?" He smiled.

"Whom do you call nasty?" the ghost glared down at the boy.

Al looked around mockingly. "Hmmm, who could it be?" he grinned. "I know you can be nice, if you want to."

"Who told you that lie?" Snape growled.

Al laughed, but then he turned serious. "I have a message for you."

The ghost eyed Al couriously. "A message? Who´d send a message to me?"

"My Dad."

"Your father? What would famous Harry Potter want to say to me?"

It was the first time in Al´s life that he heard someone say his dad´s name as if it was an insult. "I talked to him about the War," Al said, "and he explained what you have done and how it had been wrong to hate you. And he asked me to tell you ´Thank you´."

The ghost was taken aback. He floated to the battlements and looked over the lake. "Did he," he said after a while, so low that Al could barely hear him. "What else did he say?"

Al wasn´t sure it was wise to bring the topic up as he had been shouted at over it in the past. But he had to know. "He was surprised you hadn´t gone on." As the ghost stayed silent, he went on. "Why did you stay behind?"

"Because I was afraid," whispered the ghost.

Al shook his head. "I don´t believe that. Dad said you were so brave! A hero! Why would you be afraid of going on?"

The ghost turned to face the boy. He looked angry. "Are you saying that I´m a liar?"

Al shook his head. "No, not a liar, but you are not honest with me."

The ghost glared in silence for a while then he resumed staring over the lake.

"Why?"

The moment stretched and Al thought the ghost hadn´t heard his soft question, but then Severus Snape turned again and his face was an image of fury and pain. "Can´t you leave it?" the ghost roared. "You want to know why I´m still here? All right, I´ll tell you! Because I was ashamed!"

Al retreated some steps, away from the angry spirit. "But . . . you are a hero," he piped, "why would you be ashamed?"

The ghost seemed to consciously calm down by taking in a few deep breaths. Did ghosts breathe at all? Al wondered. Little by little, Severus Snape calmed. At last he sat on his favourite spot, beside Dumbledore´s tablet.

"I failed," he whispered. "I loved your grandmother and I failed her. I was a lousy friend and when she died, I promised to protect your father for her, but I failed her again. I died and the last thing I did was tell your father he had to die, too. How could I face her, when I had sent her son to death? What would she say? I couldn´t do it, I just couldn´t go on and face her."

"But my dad´s alive."

The ghost nodded and sighed. "He is. But when I learned that, it was too late. I had missed my opportunity to go on. I´m stuck. First I stayed at the shack, where I died, but it was depressing. So after a few years I moved up here, where the view is peaceful and he is near." He indicated the tablet.

"He was your friend?"

The ghost nodded.

"Mr. Potter?" Professor Sinistra called from the stairway.

Grudgingly Al had to pack his things and leave. He still needed one star.

-x-

Al had a lot to think about over the next week. Every evening he took Snape´s chocolate frog card from his bedside drawer and looked at the frowning face, deep in thought.

"Has anything happened?" asked Scorpius on Saturday evening. He came over to sit beside Al. Enrico and Vern hadn´t returned from the library yet. "You seem so quiet these days."

Al put the card back into the drawer. "I was thinking about the ghost." He sighed.

"Did you see him again?" Scorpius asked eagerly.

Al nodded. "I talked to him last Wednesday. He told me that he didn´t really mean to stay behind. It took him some time to decide whether he wanted to go on and when he had made his choice it was too late." He thought he´d rather not tell why exactly Snape had hesitated.

"You actually talked to him? Wicked!" The small blond´s cheeks were flushed with excitement. "Do you know who he is?"

Al nodded. "Promise you´ll keep it secret."

"Promise."

"It´s Severus Snape."

"Snape!" Scorpius´ jaw dropped. "Boah! If Dad knew he´d visit him! Snape did a lot for my Dad. I told you."

Al nodded in agreement. "He did loads for my Dad, too. I wish I could help."

"That would be good. It would be some sort of payback. But there´s nothing to be done."

"Isn´t there?" Al asked sadly.

Scorpius bit his lip. "Maybe we should check in the library, just to make sure."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."


	9. Another snowball fight

The boys weren´t able to investigate in the library the next day. Vern and Enrico were around all the time and it was a silent agreement that the ghost was Al and Scorpius´ secret. Al thought it was great to have a secret only shared with his very best friend.

The next few days weren´t any better. The teachers dealed out homework in increasing amounts and although the Slytherin first years were to be found at the library frequently, they had no time whatsoever to care about ghosts and ways to enable them to go on.

The weekend started busy, too. Especially after James and his classmates challenged the Slytherins to a snowbattle on Saturday morning after breakfast.

"Are you sure we won´t get in trouble?" asked Al.

"I asked McGonagall," said James proudly. "She says it´s okay, if we agree on rules first. And if the upper years stay away. So what do you say? Gryffindor has a total of eight first and second years, who´d like to participate. Can you come up with a team of eight?"

Al and Scorpius promised to try and went to their common room to recruit. It was easy. They could have provided twenty fighters as well.

"Whom do we choose?" asked Scorpius. "More boys or girls?"

"As this is a magical battle and not a fistfight," said Millicent Boyl, a second year, sternly, "you should go for magical abilities not physical strenght. So better choose second years. We know more spells!"

"But we want to play, too!" cried Enrico.

"You can next year!" snapped Millicent.

"You wish!" retorted Elmira Smyth, one of Al´s classmates.

Soon most of the younger Slytherins were engaged in shouting duels. It was Jonah, who sorted things out at last.

"As you all want to participate," he suggested, "why don´t you draw for it?"

He provided little pieces of parchment and everyone who wanted to be part of the team wrote his or her name on one. Then they put the parchments into a wizard´s hat and Jonah shuffled.

"Oy, Violet, we need someone to draw!" he cried and the blonde seventh year joined the group.

"How many?" she asked and threw back her long vail of golden hair.

"Eight," said Al.

Violet drew eight pieces of parchment and Jonah read out the names. Al, Scorpius and Vern were lucky. They were chosen for the team. Enrico wasn´t and pouted.

"You can have my place," said Vern.

Enrico shook his head. "You were lucky. No reason why you shouldn´t enjoy it. I´ll watch and cheer you on." The fact that he had been offered to participate seemed to soothe the boy considerably.

-x-

The Slytherins and Gryffindors met on the lawn at noon. Many of the upper years had come to watch, as had many of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Seeing that the small snowball fight she had authorized had developed into an interhouse battle, which could only be compared to Quidditch, headmistress McGonagall decided it had to be supervised.

She herself and – a rather grumpy – professor Slope were present to proctor. Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House, was to referee.

The team captains, Millicent for Slytherin and James for Gryffindor, met the impartial in the middle of the battlefield.

"The rules are as follows," the tiny professor informed them, his voice magnified magically in order to be heard by the audience, too. "We´ll count points. You get points for hitting an opponent with a portion of snow, preferably ballshaped. You lose points if you hit an opponent with a spell or injure them. You´re allowed to use magic, but only on the snow. Is that clear?"

Both captains nodded.

"The team, which gets twohundred points first, wins."

The captains shook hands and professor Flitwick blew his whistle. The battle commenced.

-x-

Slytherin had nominated three first and five second years. Gryffindor, it turned out, had never asked the first years to participate and had only second years on the team.

"And they say WE are cunning," cried Millicent. "Slytherins, we have been cheated. Let´s make them pay!"

Al was furious! James had used him, his brother, to gain an advantage for Gryffindor. Al and the other Slytherins were determined to spoil the Gryffindors´ plans.

The teams gathered at their ends of the lawn for tactical discussions.

"What can we do?" asked Millicent. "Any ideas?"

Ares Watson shrugged. "I don´t think that our first years are magically weaker than their second years. As far as I know those three are doing well in Charms." The three first years nodded enthusiastically. "Our only disadvantage is that they know fewer spells, especially defensive spells. Those are taught in Defence Against the Dark Arts, but not during first year. So if the three stay behind our shields and attack from there, we have a chance."

Millicent thought about it and agreed. "Is it understood?" she adressed Al, Scorpius and Vern. "You use our defence to shield you. Try not to be hit."

Kimberly Watson, Ares´ twin, suggested to give each first year a partner. At last she was assigned to protect Vern, Ares was teamed with Al and Millicent with Scorpius.

-x-

The battle was fierce. The Slytherins were angry and the Gryffindors, it turned out, had planned the whole battle for some time. They had looked up spells to direct snowballs, to melt away the opponents´ amunition in midair and make snowballs follow a victim.

Professor Flitwick did his best to keep the battle fair, but it was an uphill task. The Slytherins were fighting a losing battle and the clearer their defeat became, the more they tried to bend the rules. Twice the professor had to stop the battle to give Mme Slope, the school nurse, a chance to stop nosebleeds.

Normally Al would have been concerned, when his brother´s face was red with blood, but he still was angry at James for tricking Slytherin into letting first years fight when Gryffindor had an all second years team.

"Really, professor, I think you should remind your house of fairness," professor McGonagall was to be heared when Mme Slope tended to James´ nose.

"Hear who´s talking," grumbled the small Head of Slytherin House. "Do you call it fair to let our first years face your second years?"

"I ask you, professor," smiled the old witch benignly, "nobody forced you to nominate your youngest."

"We thought this was for fun," Professor Slope spat. "A children´s game, not a war."

"A war? You´re exagerating, Professor," cried the headmistress.

"Really?" Professor Slope cocked an eyebrow and pointed at his wife, who was cleaning James´ face.

-x-

After the second timeout it became clear – at least to the teachers – that it had been a mistake to set the goal at twohundred points. All sixteen fighters were tired, but so angry (the Slytherins for having been tricked and the Gryffindors for James´ injuries) that they would rather die than give up. The fight was close as the Slytherins had recovered from their problems they had at the beginning of the battle. Currently it was onehundred and twenty for Slytherin and onehundred and fourty-two for Gryffindor.

As the fighters grew desperate the battle turned even dirtier. Professor Flitwick was fighting a losing battle. He couldn´t supervise every player at the same time. So while he was making sure that things were played fair on one end of the battlefield, dirty tricks were used behind his back.

Al had been hit in the face thrice, luckily only by snow. Scorpius hadn´t been so lucky. He had suffered hits with some small stones and also a potions book. (Professor Flitwick had seen the last and taken two points from Gryffindor for the unfair attack.)

The younger Potter was furious and he had to use all his willpower to not simply run over to his brother and start a fistfight, to hit him, bite him and scratch him wherever he got hold of him like he had done when they had been smaller.

"Stop doing the obvious and leave your brother alone," a voice hissed in Al´s ear. The boy started. "Are you a Slytherin, or what?" the voice continued.

Al looked around frantically, but couldn´t see who had spoken to him. None of his teammates was close enough, only Ares, but he was in front of Al and too busy shielding them both.

On second thought the voice was right. Everybody would expect Al to go after his brother. So it would be better to go after somebody else. Al made some snowballs and looked out for a victim.

It was only then that he realized that all the Slytherins had followed his lead. Everybody assumed that James was the initiator of the unfair battle and therefore everybody went after the eldest Potter brother. In response, the Gryffindors tried to protect James. Three of their fighters were shielding him. The other four attacked and were quite successful as the Slytherins neglected looking out for them.

Al took aim and sent a flock of snowballs at James´ friend Tom, who was caught by the attack in surprise. Al smirked. So this was seven points for the Slytherin team.

Ares had seen Al score and used Tom´s moment of anger. He, too, sent several snowballs at once as did Scorpius and Vern, who had been looking out for their fellow first year and spotted the weakness in the Gryffindor defence when Al had used it.

The Gryffindors reacted promptly. They concentrated their defence on Tom, who seemed to be the Slytherins´ prefered target now, and thus left James.

This time the Slytherins were even quicker. James was hit by snowballs from six Slytherins, though not from Al.

Al had spotted another weak point and attacked a Gryffindor girl, whose name he didn´t know. She had long blonde hair and pale blue eyes and she looked furious when Al´s snowballs hit her. She tried to retaliate, but Ares watched out well for his charge and erected a shield in time.

At last Slytherin won with a small lead of seven points.

-x-

The crowd save the Gryffindors cheered. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs may have sympathised with the lion house in the beginning, but they estimated a good fight and congratulated the underdogs for winning. The age trick hadn´t gone unnoticed and the eagles and the badgers were quite content that it hadn´t worked.

Professor Slope smirked at professor McGonagall and ushered his house back to the dungeons after awarding the team onehundred points for ´exceptional bravery and stamina´ and Al ten more for ´great strategical skills´.

"We´re back in the race for the House Cup!" whispered Ares to Al as they went downstairs side by side. "We really have to thank your brother for this battle!"

"I´ll make sure to mention your gratitude next time I talk to him," grinned Al.

Ares smacked him on the back playfully and went to talk to his classmates.

Scorpius and Vern caught up with Al. Both looked as exhausted as Al felt. Vern´s cheeks were red and his nose was running, but he looked happy and excited.

"I can´t believe we did it!" he cried happily.

"I thought we´d cause Slytherin more trouble when I saw Gryffindor had nominated only second years," admitted Scorpius.

"So did I," agreed Vern. "They know so many more spells than we. I thought we´d lose, cousin."

Al shot Vern a warning glance and the other boy closed his mouth quickly, but the damage was done.

Scorpius had heard him and Merlin knew who else in the crowd.

The short blond opened his mouth to comment, but closed it when Al shook his head slightly.

Vern looked devastated. How could he be so thoughtless?

-x-

"I think a celebration is in order," said Professor Slope. He clapped his hands thrice and several house elves appeared with plates of sandwiches, biscuits and small cakes. Jugs of pumpkin juice popped into existence and soon the whole of Slytherin house was immersed in a party in their Common Room. Some of the older students put up some garlands and balloons and the professor conjured a large Slytherin banner.

Slytherin house was back. They had a chance to win the House Cup.

-x-

The celebration was short. The battle had taken all afternoon and the impromptu party replaced dinner for Slytherin house. The combatants were all very tired – a magical battle lasting several hours is draining for adult witches and wizards and even more so for children – and accordingly went to bed early and the others followed their lead soon.

Lights weren´t out at once, however, in the first year boys´ dormitory.

Scorpius hadn´t said anything in public, but he lost no time once the door was closed behind them.

"Cousin?" he asked couriously. Enrico stopped rummaging in his trunk and sat on his bed to listen.

Vern bit his lip and glanced at Al for advice.

"We found out during the Christmas hols," Al said after thinking about it for a moment. He guessed it would be better to explain the whole matter to the other two boys and make them understand why they needed discretion than keep them guessing. "Our dads met at the station and it turned out they´re cousins. They were seperated during the war and didn´t know where the other was."

"Cool!" said Scorpius.

"Wicked!" Enrico´s eyes twinkled.

"We think it´s great that we´re related, but Dad says we have to keep it secret. He doesn´t want to put his muggle relatives in danger."

Scorpius nodded solemnly. "I understand," he said, "I´ll keep your secret." It sounded as if he was taking a vow.

"I´m not sure why being related to Harry Potter would put somebody in danger," admitted Enrico, "but I´ll respect your wish and keep the secret, too."

Al and Vern thanked their friends and then the four boys went to bed.


	10. Haunted

Al got up late the next morning. His friends were already gone when he finally padded towards the bathroom.

He was just putting toothpaste onto his toothbrush, when the boy was in for a shock.

"That was good work yesterday," the voice he had heard the day before said from behind him.

This time, however, the speaker didn´t remain unseen.

The ghost of Severus Snape was hovering behind Al. The boy started when he saw him in the bathroom mirror.

Al yelped and jumped back from the ghost´s reflection, which turned out to be a mistake as he jumped right into the ghost. It felt like walking under an icy spray in his clothes. With another highpitched outcry Al jumped back towards the sink. He turned to face the real ghost instead of the reflection.

"What are you doing here?" he cried "You scared me to death!"

"As far as I can tell, you´re pretty much alive," said the ghost calmly. "And it´s considered very rude to walk into somebody uninvitedly." He glared at the boy. "And technically, I´m haunting you."

Al´s jaw dropped. "You´re doing what?" he cried when he had recovered from the first shock. "You´re HAUNTING me? Why? How? Since when and for how long?"

The ghost hovered over to the tub. "Many questions at once. If you asked so much during Astronomy lessons, you wouldn´t be so abysmal at the subject."

"Don´t try to change topic." Al said sternly.

"Don´t tell me what to do." The ghost spat back.

"Excuse me, you´re HAUNTING me. I can expect some cooperation on your part."

"I don´t rattle any chains at you. That´s enough cooperation."

Al snorted. "Rattle chains? Excuse me for laughing. You´re a Slytherin. You wouldn´t sink so low as to rattle chains."

"If it gave me an advantage..."

"Stop this silly discussion now and answer my questions."

The ghost sighed. "I´m haunting you since last Wednesday. I didn´t mean to, it was an accident."

"How can you accidentally haunt somebody?"

"You have to understand," said the ghost and Al recognized the beginning of a lecture, "that ghosts have to either haunt a place or a person. Most decide to haunt a place as it´s more comfortable. Ghosts can change their target of haunting, but it takes a lot of effort and the change can´t be done very often. On Wednesday I was so immersed in our conversation that I went after you to finish it without noticing that I went too far from the tower. When I realized it I had already changed from haunting the tower to haunting you. I intended to change back as soon as I had recovered enough."

"Did you change your mind or haven´t you recovered yet?" Al asked couriously.

"Both. First, it will take several months for me to be able to go back to my tower and second, I found out that haunting you is quite interesting."

"You weren´t around much since last Wednesday," Al pointed out.

The ghost chuckled. "I was around all the time, but unlike common belief, I´m very well capable of showing myself only when I choose to. I´m haunting you, so I was never more than some meters away from you."

"What?" Al cried. He frantically tried to remember how many showers he had taken since last Wednesday and how often he had changed. Unconsciously, he gathered his pyjamas closely.

"What do you think of me," the ghost sounded insulted. "This is the first time I followed you into the bathroom and I did show myself immediately. I thought it was a safe place to talk to you."

Al relaxed a bit. "You went to classes with me?"

"I went everywhere with you, but the bathroom. I was glad to see that you didn´t inherit your father´s inaptitude for potions. The way you sliced that daisyroot yesterday, that was really well done for a first year. And you did well in the snowball fight yesterday, after you stopped acting like a brainless Gryffindor."

Al blushed at the praise. "And you will stay with me for several months?"

The ghost nodded. "I won´t make myself seen to anybody but you. I won´t be your pet. You will respect my privacy, in return I promise to refrain from rattling chains and scaring your friends."

Al nodded. What was he to do? If he understood everything right, the ghost would stay anyway. So better make him feel welcome.

-x-

It was odd to walk around with a ghost in tow, especially as the ghost chose to stay invisible. Al felt reminded of some muggle films he had watched on TV, where people had invisible friends. Al giggled at the thought.

"What?" Scorpius asked curiously as they made their way upstairs for Monday´s Transfiguration lesson.

"Nothing," Al chuckled. "Just thought about something funny."

"Tell me, I could really do with a laugh." Scorpius had spent all Sunday evening working on his transfiguration essay and practicing how to turn stones into buttons, but he hadn´t done as well as usually. He was still tired from Saturday´s exhaustion.

"Perhaps later," promised Al. He thought telling his best friend about Snape without the ghost´s permission wouldn´t amuse the spirit and Al wasn´t ready to risk Snape ´rattling the chains´. Later, he decided, he´d ask Snape. It would be nice to share this secret with Scorpius.

The professor was already there and, in order to check whether they had done their homework properly, placed a small pile of pebbles in front of each student.

"I´d like you to transfigure these stones into small white buttons. The house elves need them for the plumeau cases," the witch explained their task.

Al got started immediately. He always enjoyed what he privately called ´useful assignments´. It was nice to know that they weren´t just fooling around, but their magic served a purpose. The boy concentrated hard, waved his wand and whispered the incantation.

The first stone changed into a neat white button with four holes, it had a pearly shimmer and Al thought it looked really nice.

One stone after the other was transfigured.

"Well done, Mr. Potter," the professor praised Al´s work. "Take one point for your quick work and another for the nice design of your buttons."

Having finished his own assignment, Al had time to observe his classmates. Enrico was doing well. The big blond wasn´t as fast as Al, but he was progressing nicely. His pile of buttons was easily bigger than his pile of stones.

Vern had more difficulties as Transfiguration was his worst subject, but he had practiced all Sunday afternoon and it paid off. One pebble after the other was turned into a button. They didn´t all look the same, some were a bit bigger than the others, and some had two holes and others four, but they were all white.

"Not bad, Mr. Parker," the professor acknowledged Vern´s efforts as she walked by his desk. Vern blushed at the unexpected praise and resumed his work with even more concentration.

Scorpius, that much was clear on first sight, was in trouble. His pebbles refused to become buttons. Rubbers, yes, and corks. No problem, but no buttons. Not a single one.

Luckily Professor McGonagall hadn´t noticed the desaster yet.

Al observed his friend closely. Unfortunately he himself had no clue what Scorpius was doing wrong.

"For heaven´s sake, tell Malfoy his wand movement is too wide. The swish is supposed to be small!" an urgent voice whispered into Al´s left ear. Now that he had been pointed at Scorpius´ mistake he saw it clearly.

Al waited until the professor was speaking to a Ravenclaw student and then whispered the hint to his friend. Scorpius frowned, but tried. And really on his second attempt the blond boy produced a perfect little white button. The two friends beamed at each other.

Scorpius continued his work and finally managed to finish before the professor came to inspect the outcome of his task.

"Very good, Mr. Malfoy," cried the old witch and awarded Scopius one point for the fact that all his buttons looked exactly the same.

"Well, children," the professor continued when she returned to the front of the classroom. "As you all mastered buttons, we´ll proceed to clasps today. We´ll make them from potato peelings. And this is how it is done..."

Al and Scorpius exchanged smiles while the professor lectured the class on the properties of clasps.

-x-

"You want to do what?"

Severus Snape was clearly not amused. It was Wednesday evening and Al was working late on top of the Astronomy Tower again. At least it wasn´t as cold as last week. Snape sat on the battlement beside Dumbledore´s tablet and looked out over the grounds.

"I´d like to tell Scorpius about you. He´s my best friend. I mentioned you to him back in September and I feel bad when I keep this secret from him."

"Tell him and give him a chance to stare at me? I´m not a zoo animal!"

"Of course you´re not," sighed Al as he adjusted his telescope. "But how can you know he´d do that? I thought you protected his dad? Scorp mentioned something along these lines. I bet he´d be awed to meet you."

Snape stared out at the lake. "I´ll think about it," he said softly. "And now get back to your assigment or you won´t finish again."

-x-

The ghost took his time thinking about the matter. Al didn´t see Snape for more than a week. It was strange to know that the Slytherin war hero wasn´t but meters away, but refused to show himself.

Especially on Wednesday, when Al was alone on the tower again, it was a funny feeling. The boy had hoped that the ghost wouldn´t be able to resist his favourite spot, but Snape was stubborn.

"You know," Al reasoned as he filled in another star chart, "this is completely ridiculous. I know you´re here. You can´t go anywhere else. So what´s the point in hiding?"

The ghost stayed invisible.

Al laughed. He must look a complete idiot, working on his astronomy assignment and talking to thin air.

-x-

Snape reappeared on Saturday. Al had just finished dressing, when somebody cleared his throat on his bed. Snape sat at the bed´s edge, legs crossed and looked at Al.

The boy held the spirit´s gaze unblinkingly.

"Okay," the ghost said at last. "I´ll do it. But only Malfoy. No one else. No exception for your brother, your cousin or any other of your little friends."

Al beamed at his namesake. "Thank you!" he cried happily. "Scorpius will be delighted!"

"Delighted about what?" The young Malfoy had chosen this moment to enter the dormitory. His jaw dropped as he saw the ghost on Al´s bed.

Snape smirked at the blond.

"Come in and close the door," Al whispered urgently and Scorpius obeyed. "Scorp, this is Severus Snape. Severus, this is my best friend, Scorpius Malfoy."

Scorpius stepped cautiously nearer. "Good morning, Sir," he piped and held out his hand to Snape. Then he became aware that the ghost wasn´t able to shake it and he hurriedly withdrew it.

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy," Snape returned the greeting solemnly.

"I thought you said he was on the tower," Scorpius stagewhispered to Al without ever moving his eyes from the ghost.

"He was," Al said casually, "but now he´s haunting me."

Scorpius eyes widened even further, if that was possible. "He haunts you?"

"In a very discrete way," the ghost reassured the blond boy.

"My father speaks very highly of you, Sir," Scorpius said while he stared – Snape´s expression told Al ´I told you so´ – at the ghost.

Snape inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"My whole family is very grateful," Scorpius continued. "And Dad often says he wonders how you stood his idiocy back then."

Snape snorted in disbelief. "It doesn´t sound like your father, Mr. Malfoy, to admit that he behaved like an idiot."

Scorpius´ smile faltered. "Grandma says he matured a lot after the battle," the boy said defiantly.

There was an awkward silence, which the small blond broke at last. "So, for how long have you been haunted?"

Al smiled. "A bit more than two weeks. First Severus didn´t tell me and then he hesitated to tell you, but here we are. I told you he had stayed behind."

"You did," agreed Scorpius. He finally managed to tear his eyes from the translucent man on Al´s bed. "Is he around all the time?"

Al nodded. "Not when I go to the bathroom though."

Scorpius glared at Snape. "How can you know for sure?"

Al missed a breath. He had never thought about the ghost lying to him.

"First of all," Snape spat and got up from the bed. He approached Scorpius threateningly. "I have more important things in mind than haunting a little boy in the showers."

"Which things?" Scorpius had to lay his head back in his neck in order to see the ghost towering over him, but he didn´t lose his courage.

Snape harumphed and slid away. "Do you think I have no sense of honour?"

"I´m sorry," Scorpius said softly.

There was a sound outside the dormitory door and Snape dissolved into thin air immediately.

-x-

Over the next weeks, Severus Snape popped in and out of visibility occasionally. Sometimes he whispered advice or a mischievieous remark into Al´s ear. The ghost showed himself only when Al was alone and twice in Scorpius´ presence.

It was Friday evening in early March. Al had claimed to go for a walk after dinner. Scorpius had played along and dragged the other two Slytherin first years to the library to grant his friend some privacy to speak with his ghost.

Al went down to the lake and followed the beach for a while, until he found an area, which was hidden from the castle by some bushes.

"You can show yourself," he said and sat on a small rock.

There was no reaction and Al grew impatient.

"Oh, come on. I got rid of my friends and walked out here to talk to you. Now don´t be a git and show yourself."

The ghost popped into appearance a little left to Al.

"A bit nervous, are we, Potter?" Severus Snape asked with a sneer. Then he looked over the quiet surface of the lake. "I always liked the lake. I haven´t been here since before my death. Thank you, Potter."

"Why didn´t you come?" asked Al, but then he remembered that Snape had been bound to the shack first and later to the Astronomy Tower. "You know, you could visit quite some places while you´re haunting me. In two weeks, for example, I´ll go home for Easter. You´ll see our house."

"What?" the ghost was up in an instant. "You can´t be serious. You won´t drag me to Harry Bloody Potter´s house! I demand you stay at Hogwarts for the break!"

"You wish," Al grinned. "I haven´t seen my family in months. A grumpy ghost is not going to stop me."

"May I remind you there are different ways of haunting a person," Snape asked grimly.

"I haven´t forgotten," Al smiled. "But you won´t make things bad for me. You like me."

"That I do not!" Snape refused.

Al laughed.

When the ghost calmed down they had a conversation about sleeping draught (potions assignment), chocolate cake (Al´s prefered desert) and Albus Dumbledore (Al´s namesake and Snape´s mentor).

-x-

Snape was serious about not wanting to go to the Potters´. He didn´t rattle any chains to prove his point. No, that was below Severus Snape. He had different means to make Al see his wishes.

He woke the boy at least thrice a night. He made irritating little noises by Al´s ear to distract him from lessons and he gave him wrong advice when he was doing his homework.

The latter Al found out from a fit professor McGonagall got when she handed back his last essay.

"Really, Mr. Potter, I expected better common sense from you. If this was supposed to be funny, be informed that it is not. Never before was I forced to read such rubbish! Out of sheer interest I tried to complete the task the way you suggested in your . . .!" The witch was lost for words, but she brandished Al´s essay like a flag. "This is what I got." The Headmistress raged on. She rummaged in her pocket and produced what was supposed to be a cup and had once been an owl feather.

Well, the item was of porcelain, but it had a big, diamondshaped hole, four legs and several knots in its handle. It wasn´t white, as it was supposed to be, but a muddy brown, probably the colour of the owl, which had given the feather. It also had two short wings of porcelain, which flapped occasionally, causing a tinkling little sound.

"It is alive," snorted McGonagall. "You have to insert flobberworms and cucumber pieces through the hole or it will shriek with hunger."

Al wondered how the woman had found out what exactly the owl-cup needed as food.

"I will guess you had no idea how dark this spell was or I´d have to expel you, Mr. Potter."

Al paled. Expel? Dad was going to kill him. That was if Mum left enough of Al for Dad to kill.

"I´m sorry, professor. I had no idea," the boy piped.

His dormmates eyed him pityfully, especially Scorpius, who had an idea where Al had gotten the spell.

-x-

"You nearly got me expelled!" Al screamed at Snape. It was another Astronomy lesson and Al had stayed behind again.

"Sign up to stay at the castle and I´ll stop," Snape said coolly. He sat beside Dumbledore´s tablet again, but this time he stared at the boy rather than the lake.

"You wish," Al cried. "If they expel me, I´ll go home and stay there!" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared back at the ghost angrily. "And what are you going to do then, Mr. Mastermind?" Al asked quietly after a while.

Snape averted his eyes and looked over the lake. "I don´t want to go. Please!" His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I have to," Al tried to explain. "I haven´t seen my parents in months, and my sister and my cat. I can´t stay here. I promise not to tell you are there and you can stay in my room all the time."

The ghost snorted. "Only until you start visiting the rest of the clan."

"There may be some visits," Al admitted.

"Some visits," Snape snorted again. "You may be a Potter by name, but you are a Weasley. You could visit a relative every day and still not be done by the end of the break."

"Please," Al hated that he sounded tearful, "I won´t forego to see my family. Don´t make me fight with you."

"I won´t," Snape said with a resigned sigh. "I can´t win. That´s how haunting a person works. The ghost follows the person. Wherever they go."

Al smiled weakly.

"But you are not going to tell your family about my presence."

"No, I won´t," Al promised.

-x-

The journey to King´s Cross station would have been fun, hadn´t Al been nervous about the ghost in the luggage rack. Rose and her friend Circe, the tiny perhaps-Veela, had joined the boys immediately after the train left the station. They were the only Gryffindor first year girls, who went home for the break and for some reason they prefered to sit with Rose´s cousin than with their Gryffindor classmates.

Rose was teamed with Al and Scorpius frequently in potions and Circe had worked with Enrico once, so although they were from rivaling houses, the children knew each other quite well.

The girls had brought a set of gobstones and the six played for a while. Later they moved on to exploding snap and shortly after the food trolley had passed their compartement, Scorpius produced his chess board.

Al admired his friend´s optimism. His own dormmates had been refusing to play for months, as Scorpius was really good at the game and some time around Christmas the other boys had decided that they had been humiliated enough. Nevertheless the small blond had taken the board for the journey.

Rose, who had no idea how good the blond Slytherin was, agreed to play.

Al was in for a surprise. Scorpius and Rose were well matched and soon the two were deep in thought about their next moves. The other four watched for a while, but then went for another game of gobstones.

When the train approached the station, the girls left the compartement to find a place to change into muggle clothes. Rose and Scorpius´ game wasn´t decided and they announced it a draw.

"We have to play again when we go back," Scorpius suggested solemnly.

"It will be my pleasure," Rose replied with a smile. "We´d better start immediately after the train leaves King´s Cross or we won´t be able to finish again."

The blond boy nodded. "So we have an appointment."

Rose nodded and followed Circe to the corridor.

-x-

"Oho," teased Enrico playfully, "it seems Scorp has found his other half. They certainly look cute together."

The blond blushed crimson. "We do not," he protested.

"In fact you do," Al joined the teasing good-naturedly.

"Hear who´s talking," laughed Vern. "After you´ve been giving Circe the eye for hours."

Al blushed as crimson as his friend. Vern and Enrico roared with laughter and after a little while Al and Scorpius joined in.

Al hoped Rose was going to bring her friend for the chess match.

-x-

Mum and Lily waited for Al and James on the platform. Lily was excited to see her brothers and showed it by hugging them in turn and hopping around them like an over-emotional bunny.

"Where´s Dad?" asked James and looked around as if he expected his father to materialize out of thin air – which would be a very impolite thing to do in a place where muggles, though aware of the magical world, were present.

"He´s in Ireland. They´re hunting down some culprit."

Al and James blanched. "Dangerous?" Al whispered.

Mum smiled. "I don´t think so," she said soothingly. "He said something about illegal trades."

Al scrutinized his mother´s face, looking for a trace of a lie, but he couldn´t find any. "What´s for dinner?" he asked eagerly.

"Surprise! Surprise!" Lily chanted happily.

James laughed and took his little sister´s hand to lead her to the barrier. Al and Mum followed closely behind.

Once back in the muggle world, they exchanged some shy smiles with the Parker family and then Mum took them home. It was strange to see her drive.

-x-

Dinner was, indeed, a surprise. Kreacher had outdone himself again. He served a dish of roast beef with vegetables and mashed potatoes along with a rich, dark sauce.

"This is my new favourite," announced Lily. "I asked Kreacher to make it today."

"Kreacher knew that Masters James and Albus will like it, too," said the elf. Al couldn´t help the impression that Kreacher was apologizing for not making their favourites.

"It is delicious," said James. "You were right, Kreacher. I love it." He licked some sauce off his knife to emphasize he was serious.

"I like it, too," Al hurried to agree and Kreacher beamed at the two boys. "You know that I love mashed potatoes and this sauce is really excellent," Al continued.

They had started dessert – fruit salad – when Dad arrived. He looked tired, but Al couldn´t find any trace of injury.

"Hello, boys," Dad greeted them happily and went to hug them. "Had a good journey?" He pressed a light kiss on each boy´s hair before he sat down.

"Yes, thank you," said James. "I had a discussion about the secrecy act with Tom and Jerry. I´d like to hear your opinion on it sometime during the holiday."

Dad nodded and tucked into the plate Kreacher placed in front of him. After some forkfuls of meat he relaxed a bit. "And you, Al?"

"We played gobstones and chess. It was fun."

"You played chess?" James asked with an expression of disbelief. Uncle Ron had taught them how to play and Dad practiced with the boys from time to time, but it was common knowledge that Al was hopeless at the game.

"Well, no," Al blushed, "Scorpius and Rose played. But I watched."

"That sounds more like you, little brother," grinned James.

"Don´t tease him, James," said Mum. "Your father wasn´t such a good player at your age either. He improved a lot later."

"See!" Al cried. "I´m taking after Dad!"

Dad laughed. "That you are, son, that you are!" He rumpled up Al´s untidy mop of hair, which was an exact copy of his own.

-x-

The family retired to the living room after dinner. Dad had a cup of tea. He and James played a game of chess. Mum sat in her favourite armchair and knitted a sweater. Gran Molly had started a tradition of giving one to every Weasley for Christmas. As the number of Weasleys had increased over the years, Mum and Auntie Mione had started to assist her in the task of knitting. At the moment Mum worked on a fluffy pink sweater and Al asked himself who it was for.

Al and Lily sat on the carpet and played Exploding Snap.

Dad beat James, but only after over an hour. After the game they discussed the flaw in James´ strategy for a while before Dad announced it was time for bed.

Lily tried to negotiate for another half hour, but her wide yawn made it a losing battle.

Mum put her needlework aside and took Lily upstairs, Al and James followed without argument.

-x-

Somebody, probably Winky, had unpacked Al´s bag (he hadn´t taken his trunk home for the short break) and laid out his pyjamas for him.

Al changed quickly and crawled under his duvet. Some minutes later Mum and Dad peeked in to wish him good night. Mum put out the light before she left the room.

Al snuggled into his bed and he was nearly asleep when he was startled by the wellknown snarl.

"Well, well, look what a cosy little home Potter has built." The silvery ghost of Severus Snape hovered over Al´s bedside table. His voice was dripping with sarcasm and malice.

"What?" asked Al and sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Your father," sneered Snape. "He´s an arrogant rowdy and look what an act he pulls for his precious breed."

"My father is not a rowdy!" Al replied angrily. "He´s friendly and good."

"Excuse me!" snarled Snape, "I knew your father for seven years. He was never friendly and good."

"What would you know about being friendly," Al retaliated. "You´re shouting at me most of the time! No wonder my Dad was never nice to you, if you treated him like you´re treating me. You get what you give!"

"Al," Mum´s voice was heard from the corridor. "Are you alright, dear?"

The ghost vanished.

"Yes, Mum," cried Al. "Good night!"

"Good night, pumpkin!"


	11. Visits

"How are you, dear?" asked Mum when Al sat down for breakfast, rubbing his face sleepily. "I heard you mutter in your sleep yesterday. Do you feel well? You´re not going to be ill?"

"No, Mum," muttered Al, avoiding his mother´s eyes. "I´m okay, really." He reached for a slice of toast.

"That´s a relief, pumpkin," said Mum. "Kreacher made pineapple marmalade for breakfast. Did you see it?" She handed Al the small bowl.

Al put some of the yellowish paste on his toast and handed the bowl on to James, who sat down beside him and yawned. The younger Potter brother concentrated on his toast, still unable to meet his mother´s eyes. It felt terrible to lie to her, but he had promised to not give away Snape´s presence and promises had to be kept. Al´d never have guessed that two of his mother´s rules could interfere. Which one was more important? The one about promises or the one about honesty?

"Ah," moaned James as he tasted the marmalade, "I really miss Kreacher´s cooking. The Hogwarts elves are good, but not as good as Kreacher."

The elf, who was just placing another jug of juice on the table, smiled at the praise.

"You don´t think you can give the recipe for this delicacy to the Hogwarts elves and ask them to make it for me every day?" James asked the elf eagerly.

Kreacher shook his head, his ears flapped. "Hogwarts elves is not allowed to prepare personal food for students unless for medical reasons, master James," he explained solemnly.

"You mean, if I find a healer who says I really need this stuff every day, they´ll do it?"

Kreacher nodded and Mum laughed. "Don´t even think about it, James."

James grinned and shrugged. Lily giggled.

"Good morning, family!" Dad entered the dining room in a good mood. He pecked Mum on her lips and sat down. Reggy came from the kitchen with a small tray, which was loaded with Dad's favourite breakfast, scrambled eggs, bacon and toast and a piece of treacle tart.

"Thank you, Reggy," smiled Dad and relieved the young elf of his burden. He unfolded his napkin. "Kingsley firecalled," he said, turning to Mum, "everything is under control, they won´t need me today at the office. So, boys," he addressed his sons, "what are we going to do today?"

"Can we go and visit Gran?" asked Al.

"We´re invited for dinner tomorrow," smiled Mum. "Think of something else."

"I´d like another game of chess," said James.

"That won´t take all day," Dad pointed out between two bites of bacon. "We can play in the evening."

James smiled happily and helped himself to another slice of toast.

Al´s musings about how to spend the day was interrupted by the arrival of an elegant black owl. Was Dad needed at the office? Al hoped not.

It came as a surprise when the owl landed on the table beside Al´s plate and stretched its leg out for Al to remove a letter. The boy was astonished. He never got mail. The handwriting on the envelope wasn´t familiar.

Al opened the letter. Instead of the expected piece of parchment, two smaller envelopes fell out. One of them said "Al" in a very well known writing, the second said "Mr. Harry Potter" in the unfamiliar hand on the outer envelope. Al handed Dad his letter and opened his own.

_Dear Al_, it said, _I had to ask my father first, so I didn´t mention anything at school. Today is my birthday and I´d be glad if you came to visit this afternoon. It´s okay with my Dad and he also wrote to yours to ask his permission. Scorpius_

Al read the letter twice, then he looked at his father questioningly.

Dad scowled as he read Mr. Malfoy´s letter. He handed it to Mum without a word.

Al scrutinized Mum´s face. "May I go, please?" he piped.

"That´s your father´s decision," Mum said evasively.

"Dad, please?"

"Are you sure?" asked Dad. "The Malfoys aren´t known for their kindness."

"Dad!" cried Al, "Scorpius is my best friend! Of course I´m sure I want to go."

Dad sighed. The prospect of visiting Malfoy manor clearly wasn´t what he had had in mind for his day off. "So be it. I´ll go to the Malfoys´ with you in the afternoon. James, you decide what we do in the morning."

Al practically bounced at Dad. "Thank you, Dad," he cried happily. He kissed Dad on his cheek. "Mum, I need a birthday present for Scorpius!"

Mum smiled at her son´s enthusiasm. "I´ll go to Diagon Alley with you," she offered. "That way James has his father for himself all morning. Lily, dear, would you like to come with us or would you rather stay with James and Dad?"

All three Potter men snorted. As if Lily would ever miss an opportunity to go shopping!

-x-

Diagon Alley was crowded with shoppers. Many families used the break to buy new clothes for their children or replenish their supplies of parchment, ink and quills.

"So what do you want to get for your friend?" asked Mum.

"I don´t know," Al admitted. "I had no idea it was his birthday, so the whole thing is a bit short notice. What do you think, Mum?"

"Sweets," cried Lily, "everybody loves sweets."

Mum thought about it. "How about a book? Or does he play Quidditch? You could get him something for his broomstick. Being a Malfoy, he has one, I assume."

"He has an old Firebolt," said Al, "but he can´t take it to school. I´d like to give him something he can use at school, too."

"Then what about a book?"

"A book seems a good idea. Scorpius likes books."

They went to Flourish and Blotts´ and Al was overwhelmed by the multitude of titles on offer. "Can you help me, Mum? It will take me hours to choose one."

"Of course. What topic would you like?"

"Don´t know. Something cool. Monsters or dragons or something."

Mum grinned. "You have been visiting Hagrid, haven´t you?"

"At least once a fortnight," smiled Al. "Scorpius likes Hagrid´s stories about beasts. So a monster book would be fine."

They went to the department on Magical Creatures and Al looked at the books. At last it was Lily, who found Scorpius´ present. The girl had just opened a small booklet, when she dropped it with a startled shriek. Mum hurried to soothe her, but Al examined the book, which had scared his sister.

It was called "Lurking in the Dark – A Guide to the Top Twenty Scary Creatures Known to Wizardkind". Each creature was described in a short paragraph, but the main part of each page was taken by a moving picture of the beast.

On page three was a "Hungarian Horntail", which spit fire at the reader (a small bluish flame left the book), on page nine was a "Basilisk", which glared at the reader with big yellow eyes (Al felt a bit nauseous and turned the page) and on page ten was a "Veela", which changed its appearance from a beautiful woman to a sharp-beaked, birdlike monstrosity and back (was auntie Fleur able to do that?).

Mum laughed when Al showed her the book. "Yes, I guess that´s what a twelve year old will consider cool." She gave Al the money and the boy went to the counter to pay.

After the bookshop Mum took them to Honeyduke´s and bought some sweets – Lily was enthusiastic – and after that they went to a florist´s and Mum bought a bunch of flowers for Dad to present to Mrs. Malfoy.

-x-

After lunch Dad and Al quickly went over their little presents (birthday present? – check – box of candy? – check – flowers? – check) and Dad apparated them to Malfoy Manor.

Dad wore muggle trousers and a shirt under his favourite ruby robes, which he wore open like a cloak, Al wore jeans and a sweater with open green robes. Dad touched the magical doorbell beside the iron gates of the manor and Al couldn´t but gape when he first saw where Scorpius lived.

Behind the gates was a park. There was no other word for it. This was not a lawn or a garden. It was a park, hedges, fountain, peacocks and all. In the distance stood the house, which of course resembled rather a castle than a house. Al was sure the Malfoy family could go about their business without seeing each other for weeks in this palace.

A house elf appeared behind the gates.

"Harry and Albus Potter to see the masters," said Dad.

"You are awaited, Sirs," said the elf and snapped its fingers to open the gates. "Snippy will lead the way."

They followed the elf up the driveway and Al stared his fill of the park. Where those deer in the distance?

Snippy led the way inside the house and took their robes. "This way, Sirs," the elf bowed.

"Al! You came!" Scorpius came down a marble staircase at a run. He beamed. "Dad said there was no way bloody Harry Potter would set a foot into this house of his free will."

"Scorpius, be polite!" a deeper voice was heard from the door towards which Snippy had been leading them. A man, unmistakably Scorpius´ father, stepped into the hall.

Scorpius blushed crimson. "I apologize, Sir," he hung his head.

Dad smiled "I will admit that I had my doubts about coming, but Al insisted."

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor, Potter," snarled Mr. Malfoy. He and Dad shook hands, somewhat reluctantly.

"I brought you a present," Al informed his friend enthusiastically. He handed over the parcel.

"Thank you! You didn´t have to!" beamed Scorpius.

"But you are my best friend! Who would I buy a present for, if not for you!" protested Al.

"Come let´s see what it is," suggested Scorpius eagerly and the two boys disappeared behind Mr. Malfoy´s back into what turned out to be the hugest living room Al had ever seen.

Al barely noticed Mrs. Malfoy enter the room. She was blackhaired with dark blue eyes, but her skin was as pale as her husband´s and son´s. She greeted Dad graciously and handed the flowers she was presented with to a house elf to put them into a vase.

The boys sat on the carpet in front of the fireplace unceremoniously and Al watched Scorpius tear the wrapping from his present. "Boah! Cool!" Scorpius cried when he opened the book. It fell open on a page with a three-headed dog, a "Cerberus". It barked and showed its teeth. For the next half hour the two boys were occupied with viewing the monsters in the book.

"Scorpius," called Mrs. Malfoy just as they were looking at a picture of a sphinx, "it´s time for your cake."

"Yes, mother," said Scorpius and closed the book, "come, Al, Grandma invited us to the westwing."

"," said Scorpius´ Mum and directed Dad towards the door, "my mother in law insisted on arranging her grandson´s birthday tea. This way, please."

Dad hesitated. "Will she agree to have us there? We don´t want to intrude."

"Don´t be ridiculous, Potter," snarled . "You saved my life. My parents will fall over with gratitude."

Scorpius snickered, but he stopped when his father glared at him sternly.

"Lord Lucius and Lady Narcissa will be pleased to meet you," said .

Scorpius took Al´s elbow and the two boys ran ahead of the adults. The distance between the living room and the westwing was nearly as long as the ways between classes at Hogwarts. Al couldn´t believe that such a big building was used by only one family.

"You have to look at my other presents after tea," said Scorpius as they hurried along a long corridor. "Dad said I can show you my room after tea."

"Cool, I´d like to see that."

-x-

Lady Narcissa was a tall, very elegant blonde, her expression was stern, but it softened whenever she looked at her grandson. Her husband, Lord Lucius, was his son and grandson´s spitting image. He had the air of a man who was severely disappointed in life.

"Grandma, Grandpa!" Scorpius cried happily and embraced Lady Narcissa. "I´m twelve years old now!"

"That you are, my dear, that you are," muttered the elderly witch. "You´re growing up so quickly, it´s unbelievable! Did you grow again over night? What do you think, Lucius? Did he grow again?"

Lord Lucius scrutinized his grandson and his tired eyes looked more vivid than before. He walked around the boy. "You know, maybe you are right, Narcissa. He seems to be a bit taller than yesterday."

Scorpius turned on the spot, never taking his eyes off his grandfather.

"Maybe," Lord Lucius continued, tapping his indexfinger on his lower lip, "maybe he´ll need a longer cloak. But where to get one?"

"Perhaps we could give him the one you left on the sofa?" suggested Lady Narcissa.

Scorpius turned to sneak around his grandfather. On the sofa lay a beautiful blue cloak with silver trimmings. "Ooooh!" he cried, "is this for me?"

"For whom else could it be?" laughed Lord Lucius.

Scorpius practically ran to the sofa and tried the cloak on. "Look, Al!" he cried. "Isn´t it wonderful?"

"It is," admitted Al. "it looks good on you."

"Yes, it does, doesn´t it?" Scorpius turned on the spot and the cloak billowed around his small frame. "Thank you, Grandpa and Grandma! It´s wonderful!" He hurried to hug them both.

The grandparents returned his hug and then, finally, greeted their guests. "Mr. Potter," said Lady Narcissa and extended her hand with a friendly smile, "you´ll excuse our tardiness in greeting you. Scorpius is our joy."

Dad took the proffered hand and shook it. "You can´t let him wait on his birthday, Lady Narcissa," he said politely.

"Potter," said Lord Lucius, "I never had the opportunity to thank you." He and Dad shook hands, too.

"I´m sure Draco would have done the same for me," said Dad as they went to the table.

Scorpius hung his new cloak over the backrest of his chair and they all sat down.

"Don´t be stupid, Potter," growled , "we both know I wouldn´t. I was blind."

"You feared for your life and your parents´." Dad said solemnly.

There was an awkward silence. Lady Narcissa poured tea for the adults and hot chocolate for the boys. She waved her wand over a cake covered in white icing. Twelve candles popped into existence. "Make a wish, dear," she smiled at Scorpius.

Scorpius looked thoughtful for a moment, then he closed his eyes and blew the candles out.

-x-

If anybody would have asked Al beforehand, he would have insisted that tea with a Lord and Lady was boring. Now he found that he had been wrong. The adults spoke about the War and the boys listened eagerly. This was not just history, it was their families´ past.

"In the end He was a threat even to his followers," said Lord Lucius. "We were all glad that you ended it, Potter."

"I had loads of help," said Dad. "Lady Narcissa played an important part."

"I was just trying to look out for my family," said the elderly witch modestly.

"And this was all it took," said Dad. "Dumbledore said it all the time. There was a power Voldemort knew not. It was love. Your love for your son took him one step closer to his downfall. Every person who loved, contributed to his defeat. Your love for Draco, mine for my friends, Dumbledore´s for the wizarding world at large and even Snape´s for my mother."

"There were rumours that he loved your mother," said Lord Lucius. "So it was true? Did he ask the Dark Lord to spare her?"

Dad nodded. "He did. And this was the start of all. If he hadn´t asked his Lord to spare the woman he loved, she wouldn´t have been able to make a sacrifice. The sacrifice, which made me the Chosen One." He touched his scar. "A pity he didn´t survive."

"He protected me for over a year," said Scorpius´ dad. "I never thanked him. Instead I fought him each single step of the way. You´re right, Potter. A pity he didn´t survive."

-x-

After tea Dad and returned to the living room and Scorpius took Al upstairs to his room. It was bigger than Al´s by far. In fact, it would have fitted half the Potter house.

There was a huge fourposter with pale blue hangings, a soft creme-coloured carpet (Mum would never challenge Kreacher or Winky by putting a white carpet into one of the boys´ rooms), a desk, several book-shelves and still enough empty space for an impromptu Quidditch match with full teams.

Al looked at all those books on Scorpius´ shelves. "Woah!" he cried. "So many! I´d have chosen a different present had I known. Don´t tell me you don´t have books on monsters."

"Of course I have," grinned the blond boy, "but the new one has the coolest pictures. I think it´s a brilliant present." He lay his new book on the desk and his new cloak on his bed. "Look," he said and pointed at the crest on the cloak, "grandma made it herself."

Al admired the needlework. He'd never have guessed that it was handmade. "She's an artist!"

Scorpius nodded. "She used to embroider all the family's clothes herself, but nowadays she says it's painful for her eyes. This is a very special cloak. I'm not sure she'll ever make another."

"If it's for you..."

"She may," agreed Scorpius. "Now come! I have to show you mother and father´s present."

It was a new broomstick and a training snitch. Scorpius was a bit sad, because he couldn´t take it to school, but apart from that he thought it was a brilliant present. They had a little impromptu one on one quidditch match and as Al had foreseen, space was no problem. Scorpius new broom was much faster than his old Firebolt, so they took turns who had to ride the old broom.

"Brilliant," panted Al when the boys sat exhausted on Scorpius sofa in front of his private fireplace.

The blond boy nodded, a silly grin on his face. "It´s a brilliant birthday," he agreed.

"May I ask you something?"

"Mmmh." Another nod.

"Why don´t you have more guests?"

The grin disappeared. "I told you, people don´t like to socialise with former deatheaters. Dad has some friends, but they´d never gather in a group bigger than three or people´d think they plan to reform the deatheater organisation." The blond hung his head. "Dad laughed when I told him I wanted to invite you."

"What you said when we arrived was no joke?"

"No. I didn´t dare hope you´d come. Nobody I ever invited came." Scorpius looked sad.

"Of course I came," said Al. "You are my best friend. I´m sorry I spoiled your birthday, I shouldn´t have said anything."

"How could you spoil my birthday?" cried Scorpius. "You are the guest of honour! Another go? You can have the Flash."

Al nodded and the blond released the snitch. They mounted their broomsticks and the chase began anew.

-x-

"Scorpius Malfoy!" Mrs. Malfoy wasn´t pleased. "Since when are you allowed to play quidditch indoors?"

"Sorry, mother," piped Scorpius and climbed off the Firebolt. Al followed his lead and gave the Flash back. "Sorry, ," he hung his head.

Mrs. Malfoy looked at the room at large and when she was content that nothing had been broken, she nodded curtly. "No harm done, but we´ll have to talk about this kind of behaviour, Scorpius."

"Yes, mother."

" says, our guests have to leave." She turned on the spot and led the way downstairs.

"Are you in trouble?" whispered Al as he followed her beside his friend.

"Not really," grinned Scorpius. "She´ll make Dad give me a talk."

Al was relieved. That didn´t sound too bad.

Dad and were waiting in the Hall. Dad had his robes back on and Snippy, the elf, was holding Al´s.

"Thank you for the invitation, Mrs. Malfoy," Dad said politely after Al had put on his robes. "That was very kind."

"Thank you for coming, ," smiled Scorpius´ mum. "It means much to my family."

"It´s agreed," said Dad, when he shook ´s hand, "you bring your boy over next Tuesday."

"I will," promised .

Al and Scorpius exchanged excited glances. Was it true? Their parents had arranged another visit?

"You can drop him or stay for the afternoon, whatever is convenient," Dad continued.

smirked. "I´ll stay, Potter. I won´t trust you with my boy more than you me with yours."

"As you wish," laughed Dad.

Then Snippy saw them to the gates and Dad apparated them home.

-x-

Mum had a light supper ready for them, when Al and Dad returned home, but neither of them was hungry.

"Malfoy Manor is magnificent!" Al told his mother and siblings. "Scorpius has a room which is nearly as big as our house!"

James snorted. "So your friend is rolling in gold. The rumours are true." James made it sound as if money was disgusting.

"James, be nice," said Mum.

"But it´s true," grumbled James.

"True," said Dad and laid a soothing hand on Al´s shoulder. "The Malfoys are rich, but there´s no reason to be so hostile about it, James. Scorpius comes from a rich family, but I didn´t get the impression he was spoiled."

"Not? I bet he got hundreds of presents!"

Lily and Mum looked as curious as James sounded.

"In fact he didn´t," said Al. "He got a new cloak from his grandparents, a broomstick and a snitch from his parents and a book from me. Oh, and the sweets we bought him."

"Only four birthday presents? Poor boy!" Lily was all pity. The Potter children always got loads of presents, no wonder given their number of aunts, uncles, cousins and family friends.

"It´s not that bad," said Al. "He really liked his presents."

"The Malfoys don´t have much contact to other families with children," Dad explained, more to Mum than to the family at large. "I invited little Scorpius and his father for next Tuesday. I know I should have asked first, but the boys were so happy together and Draco´s a lot more civil than he was."

Mum smiled and Al knew she had nothing against Scorpius visiting.

-x-

"Why did you follow him upstairs?" Snape was livid.

Al lay in his bed, burried under his duvet up to his nose. "Why wouldn´t I?" he asked defensively.

"They were talking about me! And there I was, trying to listen, but I had to follow you upstairs to watch you chasing a stupid snitch in a bedroom!"

"I´m a child!" Al was not ready to let Snape accuse him. "I do such things like chasing a snitch! And I enjoy it! I didn´t ask you to haunt me, you know!"

"You, you, you!" Snape floated from wall to wall as if pacing. "This is not all about you! Selfish brat!"

Al was taken aback. Had he been selfish? The ghost had been a grown man, when he died. Probably following a boy of eleven wasn´t pure fun for him. This man had been a war hero! He had saved Al´s dad and Scorpius´ and Al had made him watch foolish games. Tears welled up from the boys eyes.

"I´m sorry, I didn´t think," he sobbed.

Snape´s expression softened at the sight of tears. "It´s nothing, foolish child," he said softly, "it´s just that I´d have liked to hear what they said about me. You´d better sleep now."

Al wiped his eyes with the balls of his thumbs and turned out the light. For a while the room was bathed in the silvery light of the ghost.

-x-

The week was spent with games and flying. Al and James played one-on-one-quidditch in the backyard every day. From time to time they let Lily play, but the girl wasn´t as fast as her brothers and so the boys prefered a game among men.

Al felt a bit confused, because Snape´s mood kept jumping from nice to nasty and back without warning. If he had to be haunted, it would be nice to have a more reliable ghost.

He decided to talk to Dad again. His father would explain. At least Dad knew Snape when he was alive.

"Dad," said Al when his father came to bid him good-night on Sunday evening, "I have been thinking about the men you named me for. Can I ask you something?"

Dad sat on the edge of Al´s bed. "Ask away, son."

"What sort of men were they? I mean, I know they were brave and everything, but I´d like to know what they were like when they weren´t fighting. Were they kind? What did they like or dislike? You know, some more personal information."

"That´s difficult," said Dad and Al´s heart missed a beat. "Although I worked with both of them for years, I never saw anything of them but the face they chose to show me."

"Dumbledore was a very secretive man. He knew what it would take to win the war, but he chose to carry his burden alone, without any real confidant. He presented a jolly face to the world. Everybody knew him as good-humoured, a bit crazy even, and very gentle. But it was a facade. When it came to fighting, he was determined and quick. But the most important thing to know about him is that he was forgiving. Very forgiving. He believed in second chances, Dumbledore."

Dad was lost in thought for a moment.

"And Snape?" whispered Al, breathless. They were approaching the heart of matters.

"Snape was even more secretive. Dumbledore´s front was easy to act. He had power and influence, friends and admirers. But not Snape. He acted the nasty git. He had to keep up the facade of a lurking deatheater. He had no friends that I know of and the only power he had was to deduce points from his students. Sometimes I hope it wasn´t an act, that he really was nasty and rotten to the core."

"Why would you hope that?"

"Then it wouldn´t be a hardship to show this miserable face to the world. It would be simply what he was and he wouldn´t need to pretend. Do you understand?"

Al nodded. "I think so. If it was his true character, he wouldn´t suffer more than he would anyway. But Dad, you said they worked together. So Snape had a friend. Dumbledore."

Dad shook his head. "I´m not sure about that. Maybe Dumbledore was just another master for him. Not as cruel as the other on the outside, but using him nevertheless."

"Poor Snape," whispered Al.

"Poor Snape," echoed Dad. "But as I said, I only saw what they chose to show me. Maybe they were best friends." He stood up and smoothed out Al´s duvet. "Good night, Al."

"Good night."

-x-

The Malfoys came shortly after lunch on Tuesday. Dad took another day off work, Al suspected that Mum didn´t want to spend the afternoon alone with . James stated blatantly that he didn´t want to see the Malfoys and Dad, trying to avoid trouble, brought him and Lily to Gran´s after breakfast.

Scorpius brought his broomstick and Mr. Malfoy an elegant bunch of carnations for Mum. Dad showed Mr. Malfoy around the garden. It wasn´t as big as the Malfoys´ park, but the garden changed into a wood at the back, which belonged to the Potters, too.

"No fence between the garden and the wood, Potter?" asked . "Isn´t that a bit risky?"

"There are magical wards," smiled Dad. "You do understand that I won´t give you the details."

"Of course not," grinned and Al couldn´t help but think they were sharing an insider joke.

"If you´d like to fly, boys," said Dad, "you´d better do it now, as long as the sun is shining."

"We´d better take my snitch," said Al, "it doesn´t matter, if we can´t catch it. James and I can search for it tomorrow."

Scorpius agreed and Al fetched his snitch and broom from the shed. Al was about to release the golden ball when Scorpius caught his hand. "Boah!" cried the blond, "this is an official Holyhead Harpies training snitch!"

"Yes," Al said modestly, "it´s one of Mum´s old ones. It´s not as fast as it used to be, but okay for a game in the backyard." He shrugged.

"These are rare!" cried Scorpius.

"Not really," said Al, "we have a bucket of them. Would you like one?"

"Would I like one?" Scorpius was beside himself. "Of course! Can I have one?"

Al laughed. "That can be organized. Dad!" The two man were walking along Dad´s herb patches. "I´d like to give Scorpius one of the old snitches. Can you help me?"

"In a minute. I want to show the peppermint first."

The boys waited, while their fathers discussed the subtleties of growing peppermint.

"Daaaaaahad!" Al whined after a while.

"You´d better give your boy that snitch, Potter," said . "We can discuss slug-repellents later."

Dad fetched the snitch-bucket from the shed, pointed his wand at it and muttered "Immobilus!" before he opened the lid.

"Chose one," Al told his friend.

Scorpius´ eyes grew big as saucers. There were more than fifty snitches with the Holyhead Harpies crest in the bucket.

"Try to find one with straight wings," Al advised Scorpius. The two boys examined the snitches, while Dad told how Al had opened the bucket without immobilizing the snitches first, when he was smaller. Mum and Dad had chased snitches for more than three hours, while their children cheered them on. Al blushed crimson, when roared with laughter and Scorpius grinned at him.

Scorpius chose a snitch and handed it to his father to hold.

Then Al released his snitch and the chase began. It was even better than hunting the small golden ball in Scorpius´ room. Scorpius and Al were both good flyers, especially with their own brooms and the game was close. Both caught the snitch twice, before they decided to have a break.

"How about a go, Malfoy?" asked Dad. "In memory of the old days?"

"Why not," shrugged Mr. Malfoy and asked his son´s permission to borrow his broom.

The two boys watched their fathers with anticipation. Al had seen his father on a broomstick frequently, but he never went full steam when he played with his children and Mum had only agreed to play once or twice. She usually said, she had had her fill of the game.

Dad threw the snitch high in the air and the two men each looked in a different direction. They were going not only to chase the snitch, but play a full search! After two minutes, mounted his broom and so did Dad. "On the count of three," said .

Dad counted and off they were.

Both men looked good on a broom, like accomplished flyers. They hovered high above the garden for a moment, searching for the elusive ball, then they started a series of chases and dives to distract their opponent.

After a while Mum called them for tea, but neither Dad nor was ready to end the game other than winning. Mum called again and after a quarter hour again.

"Harry Potter!" she cried at last. "Come down here immediately. You´re setting your son a poor example!"

"I´m teaching him to be persistent," cried Dad.

"Nonsense!" Mum sounded angry. "Come down or I´ll come up!"

"Whoohoo!" catcalled.

Mum shot him a deathglare and stomped to the broomshed.

-x-

Mum was a blur of red (her hair) and green (her dress). She caught the snitch within five minutes, overtaking both, Dad and , on her final move at the ball.

Back to the ground she leaned her broomstick against the wall, blew a strand of hair out of her face and handed the snitch to Al.

"Why don´t you come in for a cup of tea, ," she asked sweetly when the two men landed side by side behind her.

"It will be my pleasure, ," replied and smirked at Dad.

-x-

After tea – Kreacher served some delicious pastries – Al showed his room to Scorpius. He hoped they had stayed in the living room long enough for Snape, but today nobody had talked about the War at all, so perhaps hearing the adults wasn´t so important.

"It´s a bit small," the boy said as he let Scorpius precede into the room.

"It´s cosy," said the blond and looked around to take in everything of Al´s room. "And look at the cool things you´ve got in here! Is that a dragon tooth?"

"Yes, my Uncle Charlie gave it to me. He says I can use it as an earring when I´m older, but Mum says she´ll kill him if I do."

Scorpius giggled. "And this? Is it what I think it is?" He pointed at the small object on the desk.

"A goblin-made letter-opener. Present from my Uncle Bill."

"Letter-opener?" Scorpius cried, "Al, goblins don´t make letter-openers! It´s a dagger!"

Al felt a bit foolish. "I use it to open letters. This makes it a letter-opener."

"Of course," laughed Scorpius goodnaturedly. Scorpius spent another ten minutes gawping at Al´s things – the magical musical clock from Auntie Fleur had him ooohing and aaaahing again and again – then he sat down at Al´s desk.

"Very interesting," he said matter-of-factly and Al knew that the sightseeing part was over. "Is he here?"

"Who?"

Scorpius leaned forward. "The ghost!" he whispered conspiratoryly.

Al nodded.

"Can you please show yourself, Sir?" Scorpius asked the room at large.

They had to wait a minute or two, then Snape popped into existance beside the door. "What?"

"I did some reading in Dad´s library!" The blond´s eyes glistened with anticipation.

"However fascinating your reading habits may be, ," snarled the ghost, "I´m not interested in them."

"I found something," Scorpius continued, ignoring the nasty remark, "I know how to send him on!"

It was Al´s turn to ooooh. "How?" he asked eagerly.

"Excuse me," spat the ghost, "would you quit talking about me as if I wasn´t here? You are talking about MY fate!"

"Sorry," piped both boys.

"So how, ?" asked the ghost, content to be in control.

"It´s actually quite simple. A ghost can be sent on through an act of selfless love." Scorpius beamed proudly.

The ghost snorted. "My rotten luck. I´m stuck forever."

"What do you mean?" Al was confused.

"May I remind you, Potter," hissed the ghost, "that I never loved anybody in my whole life?"

"That´s not true!" protested Al. "You loved my grandmother! You said it yourself!"

Scorpius eyes darted to and fro between his friend and the ghost.

"Admitted, I loved her, but that was far from selfless. I´m not capable of selfless love. Thank you for trying, ." That said, Snape dissolved into thin air.

-x-

The rest of the holidays flew by. Al visited Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur with his family and Uncles Ron and George paid the Potters visits with their families.

Each day was spent in the company of loved relatives. Most of the time there were other children present, so Al was absorbed in games.

There were more Quidditch games. Al thought the best was when he, James and Dad played against Uncles Ron and George.

"You know, little bro´," cried Uncle George when Al caught the snitch and the players dismounted their brooms, "I think us two playing against the Potter-gang is no longer a good idea. The boys are becoming to big. They´re worth more than half a player each."

"We could insist that Harry sits face back on his broom," suggested Uncle Ron.

"Good idea!" Uncle George agreed.

"I think not," said Dad. "I lost against you two year after year because you insisted I play with the boys," – "They´re yours," Uncle George pointed out. – "it´s about time the tide turns." He walked over to James and Al and slapped both´ shoulders playfully. "Well done, partners! We showed them!"

Al and James were in a good mood, especially when Mum congratulated them on their performance. Praise from an ex-professional player meant something, didn´t it?

Snape didn´t show himself again during the break.


	12. A prank

Al hugged Mum, Dad and Lily good-bye on platform 9¾ and went to find Scorpius and the others. He found the small blond absorbed in a debate about their Charms homework with Rose and Circe.

"I tell you," Scorpius was saying when Al joined the little group, "if you hold your wand only between your index and thumb, the orange will grow feet with laced shoes. Whilst holding the wand with your whole hand will give you slippers."

Rose looked at Scorpius doubtfully and Circe frowned. "And how do you make high heels, Mr. Know It All?" The blonde asked the boy.

"Honestly," said Scorpius, "I have no idea and why would I want an orange to wear high heels, anyway?"

"Why would you want an orange to wear shoes at all?" Al joined the conversation.

"Because Flitwick tells me to," Scorpius pointed out. "Finally! Where have you been? We´ve been waiting for you for ages."

"You were waiting for me?"

"Actually, Circe was waiting for you. Rose and I are only here to keep her company," Scorpius replied with an air of superiority.

Circe blushed crimson and Al was very sure he blushed, too.

"That was nice," he piped.

Rose laughed and ushered them all to the train, where Enrico and Vern were saving them seats. They were absorbed in a game of gobstones when the others entered the compartement.

Rose and Scorpius started their appointed game of chess even before the train left King´s Cross Station and agreed on a timeout to wave to their families, when the steam engine finally pulled the train out of the station.

Al waved, too, although the window was occupied by Rose and Scorpius. At least he got close enough to see Uncle Ron pale considerably on the platform.

When everybody had settled down, Al unpacked a game of muggle ludo from his bag.

"Would you like to play?" he asked Circe. The fact that all the others were already playing was quite convenient in Al´s point of view.

"Is that a muggle game?" Circe´s eyes glistened with anticipation. "I never played any."

Al nodded and explained the game. He and Circe played the whole journey and he thought it was the best ride on the Hogwarts Express ever.

Rose beat Scorpius at chess.

-x-

It was a wonderful spring evening that found Al and his friends walk back into Hogwarts castle. The air was perfumed with the scents of spring flowers and it was nearly warm enough to go without a four Slytherin first year boys and the two Gryffindor girls climbed up the stairs to the main entrance along with several dozens of older students from all houses.

Some of the older Slytherins scowled at their young housemates for being with the two Gryffindors, but nobody said a word.

They had nearly reached the doors, when an older boy, Thomas Albright, joined the group. "Oi, Parker," he said cheerfully, "you´re muggleborn, aren´t you?"

Vern nodded, unsure whether being addressed as muggleborn in public was good.

Thomas, however, seemed to hold no grudge against wizards from nonmagical families. "I could do with some help with my mugglestudies homework," he continued, "It´s about television and I have some questions. Do you have time after dinner to go over it with me? I can help you another time in return. Anything you need."

This was the first time anybody had asked Vern to help them with an assignment. "I have time after supper," he said proudly. "I´ll meet you in the Common Room."

"Thanks a lot!" cried Thomas and hurried to catch up with his friends.

-x-

The returning students made their way directly to the Great Hall, where the boys had to say good-bye to Rose and Circe. There was a start of term feast, but it was rather small by Hogwarts standards – which meant there were only fifteen desserts to choose from.

Enrico told them about his Italian relatives visiting.

"Just imagine," he said solemnly, "they don´t have any decent wizarding school in Italy. There are several smaller ones, but none comparable to Hogwarts! My cousins Gianni and Tino go to Beauxbatons. It´s the closest to their home. Uncle Camillo thought about sending them to Durmstrang, but it´s too far north and he felt bad about sending them to the cold."

"My aunt Fleur went to Beauxbatons," said Al. "It seems to be a good school, too. Uncle Bill says aunt Fleur is brilliant at Arithmancy."

"Gianni wants to choose the subject," Enrico informed them. "Uncle Camillo says it´s very useful and Beauxbatons is well-known for their extremely high standards at it. Uncle Camillo was very impressed when he heard I´m a dorm-mate of Harry Potter´s son. Do you think you could get one of your dad´s autographs for me? I´d like to give it to my Uncle for his birthday. He´d be thrilled."

Al blushed. How was he supposed to ask his father for an autograph? "I´m not sure he signs anything," he piped.

"Well," said Enrico happily, "I just thought I´d ask. I´ll give Uncle Camillo a packet of new pipe cleaners. He´ll be thrilled."

"He seems to be a rather enthusiastic person, your uncle," Scorpius pointed out.

Enrico glared at the smaller blond, but after some moments of tense silence he burst out laughing and the other boys joined in.

-x-

After dinner the boys returned to Slytherin House. Vern met Thomas Albright in the Common Room to discuss the purpose of muggle television with him. Scorpius showed Enrico his new monster book and Al decided to try out his friend´s theory concerning orange footwear.

It was rather late, and Al was about to return to the dorm when Jonah and some of his friends called for the assembled students´ attention.

"Slytherins," said Jonah solemnly, "we need to hold a council of war. The Gryffindors fooled us back then with that snowball battle. True, it turned out fine for our House, but that was due to our first- and second-years´ wits and courage. Gryffindor tried to trick us and the fact that we were too good for them can´t be counted for them. They went unpunished so far, but we" he motioned around his group of friends "think that they should be tought that they can´t mess with the House of the Snakes."

The students nodded. Even Al agreed. True, he had forgiven his brother, but that didn´t mean he had to like that James had used him.

"We need suggestions," said Jonah. "We need a prank to play on them, something rather harmless, but it should cost them house points and teach them a lesson. It has been agreed that Discordia" he pointed at a redhaired seventh year "is our head of operation. If you come up with an idea, tell her. But whatever you do, remember, professor Slope mustn´t know about the whole thing."

-x-

"Wouldn´t it be cool, if we came up with the prank that will be carried out?" Enrico sounded excited.

The Slytherin first-years were lying in their beds, the lights were already out, but everybody was too interested in the prank planning against Gryffindor to actually sleep.

"I´m not sure it will be us," said Vern. "We just don´t know enough magic."

"You mean we can´t do enough magic to carry out the prank we might come up with," Scorpius corrected him slyly. "But we won´t need to. Some of the higher years can do the magic. Just think of all those spells the seventh-years know!"

"What do you know about seventh year spells?" teased Al. "I met your parents. I wouldn´t bet on them showing you advanced magic."

"Hey," Scorpius defended himself. "My Dad actually shows me some advanced spells now and then."

"One darker than the other," Enrico said gloomily.

"Oh come on, I thought we were past this deatheater nonsense." Al stood up for his friend immediately. He even lit a light to emphasise his point by glaring at the tall blond. "And as I said before, his dad doesn´t seem the type to show him anything. Scorp´s a victim of wishful thinking."

The small blond responded by throwing a pillow in Al´s direction, which hit his friend right in the face. Al, not being a Potter for nothing, retaliated immediately. Scorpius shrieked when two pillows hit him one after the other.

"You´re not thinking of having fun without us," cried Enrico and joined the battle.

Vern didn´t need an extra invitation to follow his friend´s lead.

It was only a matter of minutes for the first pillow to burst. Soon the boys were spitting feathers and laughing madly, all the while throwing pillows.

"What do you think you´re doing?" Jonah lit all the candles in the first year dormitory. This turned out to be a bad idea as several feathers caught fire and the room was filled with a nasty stench. The prefect looked from one sweaty face to the other. "Look at you!" Jonah went on.

"We were thinking about pranks," Al said defensively. "Could we do something with feathers?"

"Just think of this mess in their Common Room!" Scorpius added enthusiastically.

Jonah took in the room. "I see what you mean. That would be nice. But how to do it?"

"Can you charm pillows to fight themselves?" Vern asked curiously.

"That shouldn´t be a problem." Jonah grinned. "I think you gave me an idea." He waved his wand and the feathers returned into their pillows. "Give me another as to how to avoid to get caught and I may think about using an air refreshing charm on your room."

The boys thought as hard as they could. "Can you use a spell to delay the fight? So that the pillows will start long after you were near them?"

Jonah cast the air refreshing charm before he closed the door.

-x-

The seventh years spent several evenings in the Common Room, planning and plotting. Jonah developed a bout of filial love and spent hours and hours with his father, officially pestering him about details on a sophisticated healing draught and whining to him about having been rejected by Gloria, the love of his young life, but actually keeping the Head of House away from his housemates.

Then Discordia and several other girls were seen tiptoeing out of Slytherin House after curfew three nights in a row.

The next morning the redhaired head of operation gave the thumbs up to the Slytherins at the breakfast table.

"I wonder what they actually came up with," said Al as he buttered a slice of toast.

"They seem quite pleased with themselves." Scorpius sipped his cocoa.

Vern gazed at Discordia calculatingly. "I wonder when it will start."

The seventh year in question chose this moment to get up from her seat and stroll over to the first year boys. "I couldn´t help but notice you don´t eat your porridge," she said casually. "You don´t mind if I take it?" She sat beside Enrico without waiting for an answer and helped herself to a bowl.

"Sugar?" Al held out the bowl offeringly.

"No thanks," Discordia smiled, "but I´d like a bit of chocolate."

Vern handed her the jug of chocolate sauce.

"As you came up with the feather idea," said the girl between two spoonfuls, "we decided that you deserve the honor of starting it. Make James Potter of Gryffindor speak the word ´rubberduck´ and it will start. Whenever you´re ready, gentlemen." She licked her spoon clean and left the Great Hall.

-x-

"Wow, I never thought we´d get an active part in the whole thing," Enrico´s eyes glistened with anticipation. He had never forgiven James and his friends for the snowball fight trick though Al wasn´t sure whether this was because of the trick per se or because he couldn´t participate in the battle.

Scorpius snorted. "We´re a good choice, the only logic choice if you got some brains. We´d never be suspected of playing this prank. Remember that they probably used magic we can´t even dream of performing yet. And Al is the only Slytherin with family ties to Gryffindor. He´s speaking to his brother frequently, so nobody will find it strange."

The others agreed. "You know," grinned Enrico, "when you put it like that, I can´t but admire the slyness of the plan. I´d never have seen the strategy behind it." He sighed dramatically. "You truely are the most Slytherin of us, Scorp."

The smaller blond blushed. Although they had become friends over the past months, things weren´t as lighthearted between him and Enrico as with the others. Luckily Professor Flitwick chose that moment to begin his lesson and Scorpius was spared an answer.

They had proceeded from tapdancing oranges to grapes. The professor showed them how to spell the berries of the grape and make them dance in formation.

"It´s easier than it looks," he said in his squealy voice. "You only have to get the hang of controlling several items at once. As I said, it´s not very difficult, but I will admit that you might find it a bit complex in the beginning. That´s why we´re doing a formation dance. All your berries will do the same. When you´re a bit more advanced, we can try to establish a principal dancer."

Vern snorted. "I just hope he won´t expect us to charm a ballerina and have them do overhead lifts," he whispered.

"That is for the upper years, Mr. Parker," said the professor sternly. "First you will have to learn how to conjure a head for your grapes."

Vern blushed and the others stiffled giggles.

It was a funny lesson. People kept squashing their grapes and the sweet juice was squirted all over the place. Friends tried to aim at each other´s open mouth. In the end every present first year knew how to make grape juice without touching the fruit, but nobody had managed something that deserved the name formation dance.

Professor Flitwick, though friendly and kind as ever, was annoyed and set them a long essay as homework as well as a practical assignment. "I don´t expect you to be perfect by next lesson," he said, "but everybody will be able to get the berries off the grape, give them proper shoes for tapdance and have them stand in formation ready to start their dance."

-x-

"So how will we do it?" asked Enrico as they were heading downstairs to lunch.

"It has to look casual. One of the usual meetings," said Al.

"When did you meet James last? You usually meet him only once a week to chat." Scorpius pointed out.

"You´re right," agreed Al, "and that´s bad luck. We talked yesterday, in the library."

"Then you have to wait or he´ll guess you were tricking him." Vern said solemnly and the others agreed.

-x-

Like always when you´re waiting for something to happen, time crawled by. Al tried to convince his moody haunt to show himself after the week´s Astronomy lesson, to no avail. The ghost stayed invisible and the boy decided that he could be just as stubborn as the spirit even though he could have done with some help with his Astronomy assignment.

On Friday Discordia came to ask what Al was waiting for and praised the first years for their Slytherin thinking when he explained.

The other evenings were spent with Professor Flitwick´s assignment. The first years spent hours and hours trying to control several berries at once and the upper years had a good laugh at their attempts.

"Don´t be angry," grinned Thomas Albright, who kept his promise to help Vern. "It´s the same every year. Next year you will be laughing with us when the firsties do the grape-dance."

The four first year boys were assembled around a coffee table, on which lay about two kilos of grapes. They were taking turns trying to control the fruit, but all they produced was juice.

"You´re using too much power," said Thomas. He waved his wand lazily and two dozens of berries started a complicated routine. "See? It doesn´t take a big wand movement and no extra power. Just concentration. Come on Vern, try again."

Vern bit the tip of his tongue as he concentrated as hard as he could. Then he said the incantation (Mobilifructi!) and waved his wand carefully. Five berries grew feet and queued up, shoving each other a little, but they ended up in a tidy row.

"Well done, now you practice," said Thomas and rejoined his friends.

"Wow, I wish I could do that," sighed Scorpius and Al couldn´t but agree. It took them two more evenings to master the spell.

-x-

It wasn´t before Sunday that Al felt it was safe to seek out his brother.

"Hi James," he cried cheerfully as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast. "What are your plans for today? What about a game of soccer? Slytherin against Gryffindor?"

"Deal," grinned James. "Let´s meet on the lawn after breakfast."

The Slytherins didn´t want to seem too eager, so they made sure to arrive after the Gryffindors. The game was fun. Al and his friends won five to three before it was agreed to go for lunch. The Slytherins let the Gryffindors proceed up to the castle and started talking behind their backs loud enough for them to hear every word.

"Soccer is a game for the quick," Vern said to Enrico. "You have no chance when you´re slow on your feet. That´s why I prefer it over Quidditch. I mean, everybody can fly fast."

"I see your point now," replied Enrico. "It´s unbelievable they´re refered to as lions."

Al snorted. "Lions? You mean rubberducks."

"Rubberducks?" Scorpius laughed. "Quack, quack."

The Gryffindors turned on the spot to confront the Slytherins. "Who are you calling rubberducks?" James hissed angrily.

"Nobody!" Al reassured him, taking a step backwards defensively. The other Slytherins nodded. "Nobody," piped Scorpius. Al thought he might burst with laughter any moment. Who´d have thought that Scorpius Malfoy was such a good actor. He was all misery.

The Gryffindors laughed at the younger Slytherins and proceeded to an early lunch.

When the young snakes sat down for their meal, Al signalled Discordia and soon the whole Slytherin table was hiding anticipating smirks. There weren´t more than ten or twelve Gryffindors at their House Table yet, which meant that most of the house was still at Gryffindor Tower.

-x-

"Professor McGonagall! Professor McGonagall!" Circe dashed into the Hall just when Al had helped himself to a bowl of chocolate ice cream for dessert. The girl was covered in plum feathers, which rained off her little by little, forming a delicate trace behind her.

The headmistress got up from her seat at the Head Table to better see her student. "What is it, child? What happened to you?" She scrutinized the girl, looking out for serious injury.

"The Tower has gone crazy!" panted the tiny blonde. "The suits of armour are battling with pillows. There are feathers everywhere! The Common Room, the dorms, the staircases, everywhere! We can´t stop them and they won´t let anybody out! It took the seventh years nearly half an hour to open a gap for me to come for help!"

Minerva McGonagall set out for Gryffindor House at a – considering her age – remarkable speed. "You stay here," she cried to Hagrid, "the others follow me to Gryffindor Tower. The students are not to leave the Hall."

-x-

As soon as the last teacher – but Hagrid – had left the Hall, it was filled with the humming of conversation. The other houses were curious what all this was about and the Slytherins, true to their reputation, joined the gossip in order to avoid drawing suspicion on themselves.

The headmistress and her staff returned more than an hour later. By then the House Tables but Gryffindor were professors, like Circe had been, were covered in feathers. ("Cleaning spell repellant charm," Discordia whispered.) The adults were furious.

"I want to know, and I want to know it NOW, who´s responsible for this mess!" Professor McGonagall fumed at the student body at large.

Slytherin House acted innocent. Some of the older years even craned their necks as if to see whether somebody was volunteering to plead guilty.

-x-

Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin were ordered to rid the corridors of feathers. The Slytherins didn´t complain. It was a happy task, when they were picturing what Gryffindor Tower looked like and those who had tricked them clean it without magic.

"Moira applied a stickyness charm, which will only work inside the tower," Discordia snorted with laughter.

"How did you do it at all?" Al asked curiously. He and Scorpius were cleaning the Entrance Hall with Jonah and their head of operation. Discordia had put up a charm to prevent them from being overheard. It was ´Muffliato!´ and rumour had it that it had been invented by Severus Snape, the Slytherin War Hero, himself. Al planned to ask him, if the ghost ever showed himself again. It had been more than a fortnight since the boy had last seen him.

"We waited until the house elves took the bed cloths out for washing and put the spells on those. The most tricky part were the suits of armour. Katie actually sneaked into their Common Room." Discordia sounded quite proud. "She spelled the suits to start a pillow battle when the code word was said by the target person."

"James." Al snickered.

"Indeed, your dear brother," Jonah stepped in. "He deserved it for tricking you back in February."

"But he doesn´t know it was him who started it," Scorpius pointed out.

Jonah shrugged. "He´ll learn eventually."

"What other spells did you use?" Scorpius asked eagerly while he was wiping feathers off the statue of Godric Gryffindor, slapping the founder with his duster happily.

Discordia ticked them off. "Apart from the stickyness spell, one to keep them inside the Tower, one to make the pillow cases burst easily, one to raise the feathers up from the floor every three minutes. Cleaning Gryffindor Tower won´t be pretty."

The four Slytherins had a good laugh. The two first years admired the older students´ skills and Jonah explained to them how the cloth weakening charm, which had been used on the pillow cases, worked.

-x-

There was no dessert at supper.

-x-

Professor Slope asked the prefects to call the Slytherins to a house meeting in the Common Room after supper. He was livid.

"I can´t proove it, but I know that you are responsible for the mess in Gryffindor House," he fumed as he paced in front of the fireplace. "For the first time since I came to Hogwarts to teach I´m ashamed of my house! This was mean! Shabby! Unworthy of the proud house of Salazar Slytherin!"

"As you can´t proove anything," Jonah said cheekily, "it was quite Slytherin. – Sir!" He added the last hastily.

The professor cast his son a furious glance. "How dare you use the name of our founder for this shameful action!"

"We were tricked and if we had anything to do with today´s events," Jonah fumed back, "and I don´t say we have, we´d only have paid them back!"

"Ha! Admit it, it was you!" the Head of House shouted. "Whom from the house did you drag into this?"

"First you talk about unworthyness and then you expect me to give away a secret operation, not that there was one!" spat Jonah.

"Don´t act Slytherin on me, boy," hissed the professor, "I´m a Slytherin myself."

"I fail to recall you ever mentioning having attended Hogwarts," growled his son, "I thought you went to Durmstrang?"

Professor Slope stopped in his track. "Fifty points from Slytherin," he hissed. "This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated. Anybody who is caught participating in another secret operation," his voice oozed sarcasm, "may consider themselves expelled."

The Slytherins, especially the younger, gasped. The professor gave them another furious look before he stomped out.


	13. A war

Professor Slope wasn´t the only one to guess who had feathered Gryffindor House. The very victims of the prank had no doubts who was to blame and – even worse – their Head of House shared their point of view.

Professor McGonagall had her revange by stopping awarding Slytherin House any points at all. Vern was furious. He had managed to make a cup of an acorn at his first attempt, an extraordinary achievement seeing that Transfiguration was his worst subject. Usually, the professor would have sung his praise, but today she pointed out that she didn´t like the cup´s pattern.

The Gryffindors themselves lost no time to retaliate. After the very next training session the whole Slytherin Quidditch team came back to the Common Room shivering violently, their hair oddly black.

"Look at us!" cried Darlene McKinnon, "First there was tar in the showers instead of water and when we ended the spell, the water wouldn´t warm!" She had tears in her eyes, which was easily understandable considering that she had waistlong blonde hair.

"I´ll fetch professor Slope," said Jonah softly, "he´ll know how to get rid of the tar."

When the potions master arrived it had already been agreed that this affront required revenge.

"What happened to you?" the professor asked sternly.

The captain, Morgane Nott, explained. "We used the cold water and every spell we could think of to get the tar off our skin and it worked fairly well, only our hair is still sticky as ever. And we´re cold."

"Sit," the professor motioned the team to the armchairs and sofas right in front of the fireplace. He then conjured a huge, fluffy blanket for each team member. Several moments later a house elf with a huge tea tray popped into existance. "I´ll be back shortly."

The Slytherins held an impromptu war council in the professor´s absence. When he returned with seven vials of a poisonous looking brew, which was to be used as a shampoo, a total of three secret operations had been decided on.

The Slytherins, true to their reputation, were sly. Their targets were various as well as their operators. They used their NEWT-students as well as their first years. Scorpius was in charge of one of their plans.

-x-

"Are you sure you know what you´re doing?" Enrico asked doubtfully as he watched the small blond add dried oak leaves to the brew. The Slytherin first year boys were sitting on the floor of the girls´ toilet on the second floor.

Scorpius didn´t answer, instead he stired the brew, carefully counting the stirs and changing direction at a complicated pattern.

"Sssshh," hissed Vern, "if he miscounts, the brew will be ruined."

"Are you sure we won´t be caught?" Enrico asked Al. The biggest of the Slytherin four turned out to be quite chatty when he was nervous.

"My dad, uncle and aunt used this toilet when they were at school," Al informed his friend for the fifth time. "Uncle Ron said it was perfectly safe because of the ghost." He didn´t mention Auntie Mione slapping the back of her husband´s head for ´giving the children stupid ideas´.

"What ghost?" Vern looked fearful.

"Moaning Myrtle. A girl killed by the Evil Wizard. She was probably his very first victim." Al had heard the story of the Hogwarts student being killed by a monster set on her by an evil wizard hundreds of times. It was only recently that he had made the connection to Dad and his Evil Wizard. Uncle George loved telling it, especially on Halloween. His nephews and nieces liked it a lot, for it was utterly scary and there was always a nice passage about uncles Fred and George meeting the ghost the first time when they tried to steal a toilet seat for mum. All Weasley children liked stories with Uncle Fred in them. Uncle Fred, though neither of them had ever met him, was loved dearly, for he was the most funny – he had come up with the idea for Canary Creams – , the most intelligent – he had found out how to go to Hogsmeade unseen – and the most handsome – despite being Uncle George´s identical twin – of the Weasley men.

"Do we have to do this here? Where a ghost could pop up any moment?" Vern startled Al out of his wool-gathering.

"It´s the safest place." Al pointed out. He wondered what Vern would say, if he knew that there was another ghost present. Al had no doubt that Snape was there. He just wondered, how long it would take for the spirit to show himself again.

"When this is ready," Enrico pointed at the small cauldron Scorpius was working at, "what are we going to do?"

"It´s quite simple." Scorpius had stopped stiring and was now reducing the heat under the cauldron. "We have to add some drops to their pumpkin juice. Preferably at breakfast. It will expose them to the whole school for a whole day. The teachers won´t let them hide."

"It won´t really hurt them?" Al asked a bit anxiously. He was ready to play a prank on his brother, but he didn´t want to seriously hurt him.

"No, it will just give them green hair." Scorpius promised.

"Where did you get the idea?" Vern asked with awe.

"It wasn´t my idea," the small blond reminded him. "It was Jonah´s. Rumour has it that Severus Snape himself used it on the Gryffindors at his time."

Al thought he´d have to ask the ghost when he turned up again.

-x-

Al and Vern stood guard while Scorpius slid through the kitchen entrance. The cover story was that they wanted some special jam for breakfast and Scorpius, being the most Slytherin of them, was trying to convince the elves to provide it.

Enrico´s post was a bit down the corridor to make sure no Hufflepuff cought them.

Scorpius was back in two minutes. "They won´t make it," he said a bit too loud to signal Enrico he was back. They walked up to the Great Hall and Enrico joined the group before they reached the doors.

The four first years sat at their usual places, near the end of the table. Al and Scorpius were facing towards the other house tables. Vern and Enrico looked at them questioningly. Was there any effect yet?

It started when Al was nearly finished with his breakfast.

A Gryffindor girl shrieked. Al craned his neck to see who it was. Nobody he knew. He´d have guessed the girl was a third or fourth year. Her waistlong plait shimmered in finest Slytherin green. Shortly later, several of the Gryffindors, who were sitting near her pointed at each other in shock. One by one, their hair colour changed.

The Slytherins laughed along with the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. It was a rather harmless prank after all, so there was no need to hide their glee.

Al thought it was brilliant and Scorpius smirked with self-content. Jonah had asked him twice whether he was sure he could brew the potion as it was rather advanced for a first year.

Soon the Gryffindors figured out that someone had spiked their food and stopped eating and drinking. Nevertheless the prank had been a success. There were more than twenty Slytherin-haired Gryffindors.

Both boys´ faces froze when they saw that Rose and Circe were among their victims and the girls looked hurt when they saw their friends laugh. But then it was only hair and the potion was designed to wear off after a day or two.

"Too funny," Scorpius snorted and Al couldn´t but agree.

-x-

Rose didn´t share their point of view. She didn´t speak to either Al or Scorpius all potions lesson this day, which was rather hindering to their work seeing that they were teamed up by Professor Slope again. For once Rose didn´t care about marks.

"Don´t be a spoil-sport," Scorpius urged the girl. "We can only brew this within the provided time if we work together."

It was the wrong thing to say for Rose glared at the boy angrily. "I don´t care whether we finish this stupid potion. And I don´t care about your stupid marks. And I don´t care about stupid you!" She flung a shrivel fig into their cauldron violently. Al and Scorpius were both splashed with what they had already brewed. Professor Slope, who had been within earshot, ignored the girl´s fit, but rather glared at his Slytherins calculatingly.

Al searched for a cloth to wipe the brew off his robes. Scorpius stared at Rose angrily. "Look what you´ve done!" he complained. "My robes!"

"It´s only robes!" hissed Rose. "Don´t be a spoilsport!"

Scorpius stared at her open-mouthed.

Al went to the sink to get some water to clean his robes. On his way he watched out for Circe. She hid at the back of the classroom, though hiding was difficult when you were one of two green-haired people in the room.

Al took a detour to her table on his way back to his seat. "I´m sorry about your hair," he said in a small voice. "And I apologise for laughing at breakfast."

"It wasn´t your fault," Circe said shyly.

Al nodded hesitantly. He felt bad about lying to the girl, but after Scorpius´ row with Rose it didn´t seem wise to point out that, strictly speaking, it was.

-x-

At lunch professors Slope and McGonagall were to be seen checking the Gryffindor and Slytherin´s food and drink for potions. Both teachers looked ready to kill. The meal itself passed without an incident, but when the Gryffindors left the Hall they discovered that somebody had coloured the statue of their founder in Slytherin green.

Half an hour later rumour had it that the Defence homework of all Gryffindor seventh years had fallen victim to spontaneous combustion.

In the evening professor Slope gathered his house for another meeting in the Common Room.

"Do you miss something?" he asked the assembled students.

The youths looked around. It took a while before a girl asked "Where are Nero and Midas?"

"Misters Darcy and Goldsmyth are at the hospital wing. Somebody attacked them."

"Are they seriously hurt?" Jonah asked with concern.

"Don´t you think it´s a bit late to care for your housemate´s safety?" spat the professor. "You started a war! You didn´t think there wouldn´t be any victims?"

The Slytherins hung their heads.

The professor waited a while before he informed them that Nero Darcy had a black eye and Midas Goldsmyth needed to have his ears restored to their proper size. Then he left his house to their brooding.

"We have to be more careful," said a fifth year boy. The others agreed.

-x-

Al went to bed early. His housemates were still plotting at the Common Room, for it was agreed that more serious measures against Gryffindor were needed. Al was not so sure. Professor Slope had a point. When they started a war, people were going to be injured.

"You know that Slope is right."

Al started. He hadn´t seen Snape in weeks. The ghost hovered over Al´s bedside table.

The boy nodded hesitantly. "I understand what he means, but won´t the Gryffindors think that we are weak?"

"You started a spiral of violence," said the ghost. "It started with a harmless snowball battle and now two students have been hurt. It will get worse and worse unless you stop it. There are smarter ways to remind them of their place."

"What do you suggest?"

"Take the House Cup. Show them who is better on the official battle field. Don´t get caught in skirmishes, which will only earn you punishment from the teachers. There is already a battle of houses going on at Hogwarts and it has been so for centuries. This is the fight you have to win and all the other houses will bow to Slytherin."

"They said you gave the Gryffindors green hair yourself back then."

The ghost grimaced, though of anger or pain or something else Al couldn´t tell.

"We aren´t discussing me. We´re discussing the present. I suggest you go back to the Common Room and stop those hotspurs from doing damage to the house."

"I´m a first year," Al pointed out, "and not the most popular among my housemates. Some still begrudge me being a Potter. How am I to stop them?"

Snape sighed dramatically. "Do I have to explain everything to you, boy?"

-x-

Ten minutes later Al padded to the Common Room in his pyjamas.

"Al," cried Discordia, "we were just talking about who´d be able to smuggle a jinxed pygmy puff into their Common Room."

"I thought about something," said Al. He hoped that Snape was right in guessing his house mates behaviour. "We´re plotting and playing tricks. Risking to be caught. If we succeed, we´ll drive the teachers into their lair. Aren´t we behaving like Gryffindors rather than Slytherins?"

The question caused an uproar. "I told you he was no true Slytherin!" a boy cried.

Al ignored him. "Wouldn´t it be more Slytherin to humiliate them in a way, where we have the teachers and other houses on our side? We were on the right path before we started the pranking. We were reaching for the House Cup despite the troubles we had back in autumn." Al didn´t mention that he himself had been part of those troubles. "Wouldn't it be the ultimate revenge," he continued, "to have the Great Hall decorated in our colours at the end of the school year and get the Cup? We can do it, as we're loyal and sly. If we stand up for each other and watch out for our house instead of theirs, we will succeed. And they will have to acknowledge that we are better than them."

"Al is right," said Discordia. "We let them drag us into their game. A game we are good at, but they are even better as they are more willing to take risks. Let´s stick with our own game and show them."

"Right," cried Ares, "they have bravery, but we have brains."

"It sounds as if you mistook us for Ravenclaws," chuckled Enrico.

"Why not?" cried Jonah. "Just look at it! We´re brave like Gryffindors" – there were some loud boohs – "but not reckless as them. We´re clever like Ravenclaw, but even more cunning. And we´re loyal like Hufflepuffs, but we are able to combine it with a healthy amount of self-preservation. No wonder that Slytherin is the greatest of the four houses."

The assembled Slytherins cheered. They were so loud that professor Slope came bursting into the Common Room. "What is this racket about?" he asked sternly.

"We just decided to win the House Cup, Sir," reported Jonah proudly.

"A good decision," the professor smiled. "I suggest you go to bed. Being well-rested will help."

The Slytherins were so enthusiastic about their new plan that they forgot to complain about the early curfew and actually went to bed.


	14. The trap

The peace between the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin was feeble. There were no more pranks, but there was no friendliness either. There were no more shared games or projects and whenever members of the two rivalling houses were teamed up by a teacher, the work was overshadowed by quarrels and malice.

As the first years were still working on the basics of magic, they weren't teamed up as often as the other years, so life went back to relative calm for Al and his friends.

Snape seemed to have forgotten about being moody and showed himself regularly. He even helped Al with his assignments from time to time. Despite having been dead for nearly two decades, the spirit felt still bound to Slytherin House and if he had to lecture Albus Potter about tap-dancing charms to ensure that the House won the race for the cup, then he was going to do it.

Every Wednesday, the ghost helped Al find missing stars and looked over the lake while the boy completed the charts.

"Are you missing your tower very much?" Al asked after a lesson in June.

"Not as much as I had thought I would," confessed the ghost, "but I do miss it."

"Will you be able to return before the holidays?" Part of Al hoped the answer was no. The ghost was interesting company when he wasn't in a bad mood.

"I'm afraid not," answered Snape, not taking his eyes off the moon's reflection in the dark water. "I will have to spend the summer with you. I won't see my tower for two months."

"I'm sorry," said Al.

There was an uncomfortable silence. What was Al to say? It wasn't his fault that Snape haunted him and he could do nothing to enable the ghost to return to his favourite place. He just hoped Snape was in a good mood when he found out that Dad had decided to take the family to Disney Land. Al was looking forward to seeing a muggle theme park, for Snape it was, most likely, different.

"I thought about something." The ghost broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"I´d like to see my old office."

"Then why don´t you have a look?"

"Because I have to go where you go!" the ghost spat impatiently. "You don´t think you can get yourself into detention for me?"

"Not in a million years!" cried Al. "If I would, professor Slope´d deduct house points! What about the plan for the House Cup? It was your idea!"

The ghost hesitated. "Of course," he said then.

"Do I really need to actually be in the office?" asked Al. "I mean, you can be in a different room, can´t you? As long as you´re near enough..." He blushed.

"Of course," the ghost agreed. "I do it every time you go to the bathroom."

Al wondered, whether Snape could read his mind. "So, how near to the office do you need me?"

"Quite near. In front of the door would be best."

The boy finished his assignment quickly – the moons of Uranus – and handed it in to Professor Sinistra when she came to lock the door. He hurried down to the dungeons, but he didn´t go to his dormitory immediately. Instead he hid in a niche near the door to professor Slope´s office. He waited some minutes before he went on to Slyhterin House. If it had been too little time for Snape, he could repeat the action another time.

"Thanks," a soft voice said into his ear as he crossed the empty Common Room.

-x-

"What is it like?" Al asked when he saw Snape the next time. They were in the first years´ dorm and Scorpius was there, but not Enrico or Vern.

"Was much changed since it was yours?" Scorpius added eagerly.

"The furniture belongs to the school," said the ghost, "it´s still the same and many of my old things are there. I left them for Slughorn to use back then when I took over Dark Arts. He had to fill in on short notice and had nothing prepared. It seems he left those things here when he left as they weren´t his. And your professor Slope has some still in use. That glass jar I threw at your father once."

"You threw a glass jar at my father?" Al was impressed. What had his father done to get such a violent reaction from the ghost? Snape, Al had found out, was moody, but not violent.

"Once."

"What did he do?"

"He ran."

Al got the impression that Snape had misinterpreted the question on purpose.

"And there´s also the small mortar your grandfather" he adressed Scorpius now, "gave me for my eighteenth birthday."

"Wow!" Scorpius was awed.

"Do you want to go there again?" asked Al.

"No thank you. I had a good view and it´s not a big office."

-x-

The next evening Jonah told Al to come to professor Slope´s office after dinner. Al was a bit nervous. What could his Head of House want? Had there been an accident? The boy remembered how the professor had called Cynthia Lowheart to his office in January and told her that her grandmother had died. Then he remembered that Cynthia had been called from class. The professor wouldn´t wait until after dinner if he had bad news to pass on, would he?

"Potter," Professor Slope sounded perfectly friendly, so Al decided that probably nothing was amiss. "The headmistress and I went for help for the inter-house rivalry problem at hand. We contacted your father."

Al gasped. They couldn´t prove that he ever had a part in one of the pranks! Why would they write to his parents?

"Your father is a war hero and idol to all wizardkind," the professor continued.

Al nodded, a little delayed, for what the professor said didn´t sound like his father at all to Al.

"He agreed to make a speech to the students and he also suggested to invite Mr. Malfoy, too. He made a point that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin should speak or one house would feel blamed for the whole mess. So he will be here tomorrow evening."

There was a short pause for Al had no idea what the professor expected him to say.

"He asked," the professor shifted a little in his chair, "to see both, you and your brother, after his speech. We usually do not allow parents to visit during the school year, but as he´s doing us a big favour, permission was granted."

Al beamed. He was going to see Dad earlier than he had hoped for!

"He said," the professor said earnestly, "that he was not going to – I quote – let his sons lose each other over inter-house idiocy."

The boy´s mood dropped. They were in trouble.

-x-

The next day was strange to say the least. Al sat through his lessons and meals, but it was like only his body was there. His mind was occupied with trying to decide whether to look forward to seeing Dad or to dread answering him about the Gryffindor situation.

The speech was scheduled for after dinner, so Al grew even more nervous as the evening approached.

"I have something to show you," whispered Vern when the four Slytherin first year boys left the Charms classroom. "Thomas gave me a present. He says he improved so much at Muggle Studies due to my help, he wants to give me a token of gratitude."

"A present?" Scorpius asked cheerful. "Wow!"

"You deserve a present," said Al, grateful for the distraction, "you spent a lot of time helping him. What is it?"

"That´s what I want to show you!" Vern´s cheeks were rosy with anticipation and pride. "We could go up to the Astronomy Tower. We won´t be disturbed there."

"Why not," said Al. Snape´d be happy to spend some time at his favourite place, even more as they were going to leave Hogwarts for the summer soon.

The four boys went up to the tower chatting happily. As the sun was still up in the sky, it wasn´t forbidden to go to the tower, though the opportunity wasn´t used by many students. Rumour had it that it had once been a meeting point for couples, but the fact that a headmaster had died there seemed to have put a stopper to the tower´s popularity.

The boys sat near the battlements. Al took a seat close to Dumbledore´s tablet to make sure that Snape could sit in his favourite spot and enjoy the view he liked so much.

"Look!" Vern produced a box the size of a small shoe-box from his satchel. He opened it and took the item it contained out into the sunlight. "It´s a magic lantern! If I polish it, a genie will come and grant me three wishes."

"I don´t believe that," said Enrico. "If it was true, Thomas would have polished the lantern himself." Scorpius and Al nodded.

Vern looked hurt as his friends expressed their doubts. "You´ll see!" he cried stubbornly and started rubbing the lamp with the sleeve of his robe. And really, a tingle of magic filled the air.

Then everything happened at once.

Snape materialised and cried "Stop, stupid child!"

Vern´s hands and arms were sucked into the lamp.

Snape cried "Don´t touch him!" but Enrico, Al and Scorpius had already grabbed their friend to help him.

Snape shouted "Wands out!" and Al and Scorpius obeyed. Enrico tried, but both his hands were touching Vern and he couldn´t take them off his friend.

Snape cried "Retardo Incantatem! Chant! And don´t stop! Whatever happens, don´t stop chanting!" and then he was gone.

Whatever it was that was tearing Vern into the lamp, it was strong. Too strong for the four boys to resist. Al and Scorpius chanted the spell again and again. The force of the lamp was weakened, but only a bit. If help didn´t arrive soon, they were doomed.

"Help is on the way! Chant! Chant! Concentrate! Chant!" Snape was back. His voice was urgent and the boys obeyed.

The door to the staircase burst open and there were Dad and Mr. Malfoy.

"Conivi!" roared Dad and a flash of blue light emerged from the tip of his wand. The flash hit the lamp and the tingle of magic was gone. Vern dropped the lamp and all four boys fell in a heap. Al thought he saw a small white flash of magic, too, but it could also be a trick of the light.

"What did you do to my son?" roared . He glared at the other boys and hurried to help Scorpius get up. "Are you alright, Scorpius?"

The small blond nodded and calmed down considerably. "Are you all alright?" he helped a tearful Vern get up. Dad helped Al and Enrico.

"What was that?" asked Al.

"Where did you get such a dark item, Vern?" Dad asked sternly.

"Dark?" piped Vern.

"This is a magical lantern," said as if this explained everything.

"It catches wizards and witches," Dad explained when he saw the boys´ blank faces. "When you rub it, you´re caught for thousand years. It binds your magic and your very soul. There´s no spell to free you once you´re in it."

"But the genie..." piped Vern.

"Yes," growled . "The muggle version of the tale. It says there is a genie to grant wishes in the lamp, but that´s not true. Probably a muggle found a lamp once and heard the whails of the imprisoned wizards. – So where did you get it, boy?"

"Thomas gave it to me."

"I think we should have a chat with Thomas," said Dad.


	15. Aftermath

Normally Al would have been very interested to see the headmistress´ office, but as it was he was just exhausted and wanted to go to bed.

The four boys sat on a squashy tartan sofa in front of the fireplace with cups of tea and biscuits.

Thomas Albright sat on a straight-backed wooden chair, bound by magic, and had to answer the headmistress as well as the Head of the Auror Office.

Professor Slope, as head teacher of the culprit and victims, was present and paced the room. looked as if he´d have liked to pace himself, but as he had no part in the interrogation he sat in an armchair and shared a cup of tea with the boys. Madam Slope fussed over the four first years. Had she had her way, they´d be all in infirmary beds.

"Well, Mr. Albright," said Professor McGonagall. "Explain."

Thomas grinned maliciously. "What is there to explain? He" – he motioned his chin at Dad – "destroyed all hope for domination wizardkind had. He´s powerful. To punish him, you have to target those less powerful and dear to him. I heard the mudblood say he was his cousin. Is it true? I nearly got his boy?"

Dad looked furious. For the first time Al could actually imagine him face a dark wizard and finish him off. The air virtually crackled with magic.

"Who planted such hatred in your heart, Mr. Albright?" Professor McGonagall sounded sad.

The third year glared at her. "At home," he spat, "they call me Tom!"

The Aurors came but ten minutes later and took the boy with them. Professor Slope went with them. Thomas Albright was still one of his house and Slytherins were loyal after all.

Professor McGonagall asked Madam Slope to take Vern and Enrico to the infirmary and promised to send Al and Scorpius there later.

-x-

"Misters Potter, Misters Malfoy, I have been asked for a private conversation with you by somebody."

"Really, Minerva," said Dad and it sounded strange to Al that someone would call the stern witch by her first name. "Can´t it wait? We´re all exhausted, especially the boys."

"I´m sure you won´t want to postpone it once you know who I´m talking about." She stepped a bit to the left and turned to the wall.

Behind her, the portrait of Severus Snape blinked and smiled as the two boys and their fathers stepped nearer.

"I´m pleased to see that you´re well," the portrait said solemnly.

Al nodded. He´d only realised now that the ghost had been gone the moment the lamp was destroyed. Fear bubbled up in him. Was the ghost caught in the lamp? Again Snape seemed to read his mind.

"Don´t be afraid, Albus," the portrait said softly. "I´m well, too. In fact I´m better than ever before. I´ve gone on. Your grandmother came to make sure I didn´t miss the opportunity." He giggled happily.

"You went on? But you said..." Scorpius gaped at the former headmaster.

"I know what I said and I was convinced it was true," said Snape. "I was never capable of love. True love, not obsession. But when Al was in danger up there on the tower, I couldn´t think of anything but to save him. I never thought what fetching help would do to me. It wasn´t important and if it had destroyed me, I´d have gone nevertheless. I had to. Because I love Al like my own son."

"How did you know where to find me?" asked Dad.

"I heard professor Slope tell the boy you were coming and I knew the guest of honour was to be found in the headmaster´s office."

"So you saved another Potter," said Dad with a small smile.

The portrait inclined his head. "But this time, I didn´t do it to redeem myself, this time I did it for the Potter."

"I never thanked you, professor," said Mr. Malfoy.

"You were welcome, ," said Snape. He hinted another bow and got up from his chair. "And now, you will excuse me, I have to enjoy the afterlife. Thank you for teaching me, Albus. I´ll be back in a while, headmistress." This said he left his frame.

Professor McGonagall smiled at her four guests. She went to her desk and opened a drawer. "He asked me to give you this." She handed Al a small box. "You´re to open it in private."

"Gentlemen," she continued and straightened, "I think the boys need to see Madam Slope and the fathers have a speech to make. If you feel up to it."

Dad and exchanged a glance.

"This whole mess showed how important it is to overcome the hatred," said Dad.

"Well said," agreed . He shoved Dad towards the door playfully. "Come, Potter, we shall tell them."

-x-

Vern and Enrico were asleep when Al and Scorpius were ushered into the infirmary by the headmistress and their fathers. Madam Slope tucked them into beds, too, and Dad, and Professor McGonagall left for the Great Hall.

Al would have liked to hear Dad speak. Several people had mentioned Dad making speeches, but the boy had never heard one. Also Dad and making a speech together would have been interesting.

They must have done well, for the next day Al and his friends had visitors even before breakfast. It was James with his friends and Rose and Circe. James hugged the younger Potter in an unprecedented fit of brotherly affection, but nobody teased him about it. Yes, Dad must have been good.

As the secret of Vern´s kinship had been revealed through the events – Thomas Albright had shouted it all his way out of the castle; "Parker´s a Potter, he´s the weakest link, go for him"; at last Professor Slope himself had cast a silencing charm – James also hugged his cousin. Vern smiled weakly.

"I feel so stupid! Thomas nearly tricked me into killing Al. I thought he was my friend!"

"Dad said yesterday," James said soothingly, "that Evil will come in disguises and it will try to trick the innocent into doing its bidding. The innocent are not to blame when Evil succeeds, for they couldn´t recognise it. They have to be saved, the Evil removed and the innocent have to be welcomed back to the light."

"I hope this wasn´t a quote," teased Al. "It sounds cheesy when you say it."

"Nah," James made a deprecating gesture, "it was the summary. Actually Dad was brilliant. Your dad, too." The last was directed at Scorpius.

Rose nodded and sat on the edge of the small blond´s bed.

"You were so brave!" cried Circe. "All of you! Professor McGonagall said you had to fight a really powerful dark object. Not every first year could have done it."

"We had help," said Al, but he didn´t elaborate.

"I´m glad, you´re well," said Circe with a blush.

Somebody catcalled.

Al glared at the group at large.

"Oh, come on," sighed Rose. "She likes him, he likes her. So what? Stop behaving like little children!"

Al wanted to point out that in essence, they still were children, but the words wouldn´t come out when he saw Rose bend down and kiss Scorpius´ cheek. The blond beamed as if Christmas had come early. Rose glared at her fellow Gryffindors defiantly.

There was a thud near the door. A combined group of Potters and Weasleys was trying to revive Uncle Ron.

-x-

For half an hour – then Madam Slope took over – the infirmary was a bustle of adults and junior Gryffindors. Mum and Dad had come and Mum fussed over Al, hugging and scolding him in turn. The boy thought that she was doing a brilliant copy of Gran Molly.

Uncle Ron and Auntie Mione had come, too, but Uncle Ron was still weak after his faint and waved to Al only from a chair. Auntie Mione nagged at him all the time, patting his hand whenever his complexion paled anew – which was, Al noticed, whenever he looked in Scorpius or Rose´s direction.

Dad had brought Cousin Dudley, who kept hugging Vern so tightly that Al feared his friend might suffocate.

Scorpius had visitors, too. His parents and grandparents arrived shortly after the Potter-Weasley group. Mr. Malfoy smirked at Uncle Ron, who had problems keeping his equilibrium on his chairs, when he strolled past him, but then Dad caught up with him and whispered something to him and turned on the spot and helped Uncle Ron with the chair. The next half hour Mrs. Malfoy was fussing over Scorpius (she had to elbow Rose aside) and his father and grandparents were having a heated discussion in a corner of the room.

Al heard hiss "old wizarding family" and Lady Narcissa said something about "schoolboy crush" and "come to his senses with the years to come". Lord Lucius was whispering urgently, but Al couldn´t hear what he said.

When at last the Zabinis showed up to celebrate their son´s bravery – the Zabini family in fact was the only one who displayed no concern – Madam Slope ushered the visitors out of her realm after giving the newcomers some minutes with their son.

"Enrico, caro mio!" cried Mr. Zabini. "Tu sei un eroe! You are a hero! We are so proud of you! Your grandparents are preparing a big party for you this very minute! All the family and friends will come to honor your bravery the moment you return home! Even your uncle and his family will apparate all the way from Italy in your honor!"

Mrs. Zabini cried something about "being a hero´s mother". Al thought it was quite enervating. Probably Madam Slope thought that, too, because she asked all guests to leave soon after had started her jubilations.

The matron kept the four boys in the hospital wing all day, but she let them return to their dorm for the night.

Of course, reaching the dorm wasn´t an easy task. Their housemates ushered them to armchairs in front of the fireplace, Jonah placed tea and biscuits in front of them and then they had to tell the whole story to Slytherin House.

Vern was close to tears again when he told how Thomas had given him the present, but he smiled a little when Thomas´ dormmates cried out in rage when they heard about their – former – friend´s malice. They vowed they hadn´t known about his plans, for never would they allow him to attack a fellow Slytherin, or anybody else.

Enrico gave a vivid account of how Vern had struggled against the dark magic heroically and how his three friends had tried to get him away from the dark object with their bare hands.

There were admiring oohs and aahs when he told how Scorpius and Al had thought of using their wands and had chanted a countercurse. The whole house held their breaths to hear whether their spell had been good enough to save them, although their presence should have been quite a give-away.

"And then," cried Enrico, while his fellow first years nibbled chocolate biscuits, "Al and Scorpius´ dads were there and Al´s dad destroyed the lamp with one single spell! He was so powerful! I could actually feel the magic!"

"Don´t exagerate, Zabini," cried Discordia, "it´s a great story as it is. No need to add fishy details." She snorted. "Nobody can feel magic."

Several of the others nodded. Al frowned. He felt magic all the time. When he was near Mum or Dad. And also when he was near one of the professors. It was a tiny tingle, most of the time. But when Dad had cast the spell on the tower, it had been almost painful. He had to ask Dad about it when he came home.

"Where is Thomas?" asked Vern. "Do we know what happened to him?"

Jonah nodded. "Dad said that the aurors raided the Albrights´ house. They found plans to attack Harry Potter´s family. The whole lot went to Azkaban."

"But Thomas is only a boy!" cried Al.

"A boy ready to commit murder," said Jonah, "they won´t keep him in prison for long. Some days, says Dad, then he´ll be given the chance to change his ways. He won´t be allowed back to Hogwarts, though. If he´s stubborn, he´ll be given a potion to take away his magic and sent to live in the muggle world."

"Take away his magic?" asked Scorpius. "Is that possible?"

It turned out it was. The seventh years had heard about the potion in Defence against the Dark Arts. It was considered a dark potion, though it was used by the ministry when it seemed more merciful to take the magic than to imprison the witch or wizard.

Al went up to the dormitory a bit ahead of the others. As he had done this frequently, nobody questioned his reasons. He didn´t go to bed, however.

The boy sat on his bed and took the small box the headmistress had given to him out of his pocket. It was plain white. He carefully opened it and gasped.

In the box lay a black leather band with a small silver locket. The locket was as plain as the box had been. Al opened it carefully.

"At last!" snarled the voice of Severus Snape. "I thought you weren´t going to open it ever!"

"Severus!" Al cried happily only to correct himself a moment later. "Professor!"

"Severus will be alright, after I confessed my undying love for you."

Al giggled, but soon he was serious again.

"How are you?"

"I´m well," assured him the small portrait in the locket. "Your grandmother came to make sure I didn´t miss another chance to go on. She´s very nice. And to my utter surprise, so is your grandfather and his friends. It´s better than being a ghost. Though haunting you was fun. Most of the time."

"You´re seeing my grandparents?" Al asked eagerly. "Can you tell them I miss them?"

The portrait shook his head. "I´m not allowed to pass on messages. The dead have to rest in peace."

"This locket is great," Al changed subject. "We can talk all the time!"

"We can´t," said Snape, "but we can occasionally. Being a former headmaster, I´m bound to serve the current headmaster. So I can´t be in your locket all the time. I had, however, Minerva put a spell on the locket. If you need me – and I ask you to use it carefully – you can touch the locket and say ´Vocate´. I will come unless I have duties to perform for the headmaster. You have to understand that I can´t break my vow to the headmaster, his or her call will always have priority over yours."

"I will only use it in case of emergency," Al promised solemnly.

"Good," said Snape, "I will drop in from time to time. The locket will feel warm when I´m in. Speaking of headmasters, I have to go back. Minerva granted me more time off than I could expect. And Potter – exams are not an emergency."

"What a pity," laughed Al. "I was thinking of surprising professor Slope."

Snape snorted and left.

-x-

The rest of the school year flew by. One day they were revising in the library and then they were sitting at their house table waiting for the headmistress to announce the winner of the House Cup.

The decoration didn´t give away anything. There were banners in all four house colours.

The buzz of conversation died down when the headmistress rose to make her end of the year speech.

"Another school year is over," she said, "and what a year it was! We learned about rivalry and friendship, about hatred and bravery and also a bit about magic." There was giggling from the house tables. "This year´s race for the Cup was the most narrow in history. For the first time in the history of Hogwarts, two houses tied for the Cup and I´m proud to present the House Cup to Gryffindor and Slytherin."

There were cheers from both tables and applause from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

-x-

The journey home was comfortable. Al, Vern and Enrico played a muggle game of cards with Circe.

Rose and Scorpius played chess.

From time to time somebody shot them a teasing glance, but the two ignored their friends entirely.

James came to meet Al and Rose shortly before the train reached London. He wished the other first years good holidays and slapped Scorpius on his back playfully.

"Next time you visit, I´ll be at home and we can see whether you´re faster on your broom than the bigger Potter."

"That we can," laughed Scorpius, "and I am faster."

"We shall invite Rosie, when you come," grinned James.

Scorpius blushed and James laughed.

Then the express pulled into the station. Mum, Dad and Lily were waiting on the platform. Al was home.

THE END...

...of Al´s first school year.


	16. Summer holidays, part 1

**Interlude: Summer Holidays**

Al and James spent their first week back lazily. They let Kreacher spoil them with their favourite dishes, a task which the elf took on happily. They played Quidditch in the backyard with Lily and Reggy – the young elf was torn between being pleased about being asked to play and punishing himself for not working. Al put the small creature at ease by pointing out that playing was work when he was ordered to do it. Then he ordered the elf to play and they spent an afternoon of friendly competition.

Al couldn´t but register that Reggy was holding back. Obviously neither of the young wizards was a match for the elf.

"Of course not," said Dad when Al asked him about his observation in the evening. "House elves´ magic is much more powerful than ours on a certain level. And don´t forget that house elves grow up quicker than humans. Reggy may be younger than you, but he´s nearly an adult now. Mum and I will have to decide whether to keep him, soon."

"You´re not thinking about sending him away!" cried Al.

"You see, Al," Dad explained patiently, "we have a rather small household. There´s barely enough work to keep two elves happy. Kreacher could handle our family by himself easily. Keeping three elves might make them unhappy."

"But Kreacher and Winky are Reggy´s parents!"

Dad laughed. "You´re not planning to spend all your life in here in your room, are you?"

Al was taken aback. He had never thought about where he was going to live when he was grown up. Or what he wanted to do. Dad seemed to sense the boy´s unease.

"You don´t have to decide now, son," he laughed and rumpled up Al´s hair. "You have time to think about everything and we can discuss everything you want to know. You can also ask your aunts and uncles for advice. We have many different professions in the family, so you can get all the information you need to make a decision when the time has come. I just wanted to point out to you that Reggy is no longer a kid. Though he seemed to enjoy flying a lot today."

"Dad," asked Al. "Will you speak to Reggy, too, or will you decide for him?"

"I´ll discuss matters with him and his parents. First, it´s the right thing to do and second, auntie Mione will have my head if I don´t."

Al giggled and Dad laughed the rich, deep laugh Al loved so much.

"Dad, why are the elves our servants and not the other way round, when they are more powerful than we are?" Al asked when he had recovered from his giggling fit.

Dad thought about it for a while. "Al, why does Mum knit your jumpers without magic?" he asked softly.

"I never thought about it," the boy admittted.

"You don´t believe that she doesn´t know how to charm her needles to do the work, do you?"

"Of course not! Mum is a very skilled witch and charms are her best!"

"So why doesn´t she use a charm?"

"I don´t know. Maybe she likes knitting?"

"Exactly! She does it, because she likes it. Most people don´t use all their power all the time. Why would anybody shorten a pleasure by using magic? Magic is not only about what you can do, but also about what you want to do. We don´t have magic just for magic´s sake, but to make us happy. It´s the same with the elves."

"You think serving us makes them happy?"

"Do you have to ask?"

Al thought about Kreacher and Winky. They looked most happy when they did something for their wizard family. Doing something for themselves came as a hardship to them. Dad had to convince them to eat with the family occasionally or to accept presents.

"So they do what they like, not what they can." Al looked at Dad questioningly.

"That they do," the older Potter confirmed. "And that´s why we have to consider finding a different post for Reggy. If they aren´t happy, it wouldn´t be fair to keep three elves."

-x-

After a week of settling in, the Potter brothers started their summer programme.

Their first activity was a week with Uncle Charlie. The dragon keeper had organized a trip to Romania for a group of Potter/Weasley children. They were six. Al, James and Rose were the youngest. Lily and Hugo howled in protest when they were told they weren´t allowed to go. The other three were Uncle Charlie´s youngest son, Artie, and Uncle Bill´s eldest son and daughter, Fred and Aurelie. What was best about the whole trip was that Uncle Charlie had asked Teddy Lupin to help him and Auntie Brenda with the youngsters.

Teddy Lupin was, though not a relative by blood, Al´s favourite cousin. The boy – or rather young man now – was good-natured and friendly. He was always ready to join some fun and some holidays spent with Uncle George had taught him how to come up with a prank in no time at all.

They travelled to France via portkey and from there in a huge carriage, which Auntie Fleur had organised for them. Her old headmistress, Madame Maxime, had been glad to assist her former student, especially because she, herself, had been a guest at Auntie Fleur´s frequently during her many stays at Britain.

The carriage was pulled by huge winged horses and Auntie Brenda was a bit nervous about handling them.

"You´re speaking to a dragon keeper, love," cried Uncle Charlie happily. "It takes more than some Pegasuses to challenge me."

"These Pegasuses look quite strong," piped Auntie Brenda and Rose and Aurelie looked as doubtful as she sounded.

"He has us boys to assist him," Teddy pointed out, winking at the boys.

"Don´t you dare let one of the children near those creatures!" cried Auntie Brenda. The idea that one of the youngsters could go near one of the huge horses had turned a frightened lady into a lioness ready to defend her young in no time at all.

"Breenda, my deear," said Madame Maxime, "I guarantee you that your husbaand is perfectly capable of handliing the ´orses. And ´agrid ´as told me numerous times that thees young Ted is vehry gifted at handliing magical creatures. So, no need to be nerveuse, ah, nervous."

The half-giantess´ confidence in Uncle Charlie did the trick and Auntie Brenda ushered them all inside the powder blue carriage. The coach was huge on the outside, but even larger inside. There was a room for everyone of them, but they didn´t use them all.

Al and James decided to share as they hadn´t seen much of each other during the school year. True, they had seperate rooms at home, but they shared when they visited Gran Molly or any of their many aunts or uncles and it always was fun.

Uncle Charlie renounced his own room in favor of sharing with Auntie Brenda. They must have planned that, because Auntie Brenda looked quite pleased.

Rose shared with Aurelie and Artie with Fred, so that in the end Teddy was the only one to get a room for himself.

Most of the carriage was occupied by a vast sitting area with several sofas, a roaring fireplace and a library area, which held more books than the Potter´s at home, which was to say something. Dad had spent years getting hold of every book on defence magic that had ever been written. With the carriage came an elf, Petit, who turned out to be an excellent cook, but not as good as Kreacher.

The journey to Romania took the rest of their first day with Uncle Charlie and the whole night, but when they had finished breakfast, the dragon keeper announced that they had reached his old working area and that they were going to land shortly.

The kids tried to get a view of the area through the windows, while Uncle Charlie sat on the box and directed the winged horses to a clearing.

After the carriage had touched the ground and come to a halt, they saw Uncle Charlie jump off and greet a blond wizard cordially. Uncle Charlie and the blond led the horses away to a nearby paddock before they opened the carriage from the outside and the group was allowed to step on Romanian soil.

They were in a valley, surrounded by high mountains. The whole area, Al had seen from above, was mostly covered in woods, but there were large clearings in the forest and in the back of the valley there were no trees at all, but the rocks were blackened in spots as if something had burnt them.

"Say hello to my old friend Traian Popescu. Traian, this is my wife, Brenda. And those are my youngest, Artie, and my nephews and nieces." Uncle Charlie said their names as he pointed at each of them. Mr. Popescu shook their hands and beamed at them.

"I´m pleased to meet you," he said without the tiniest accent despite his foreign sounding name. "We were all sad when Charlie decided to return to England, it´s nice to have him back and be it only for a while. I thought," he turned to Uncle Charlie, "we´d start easy today. A little walk around the paddocks and a look at the nursery."

Uncle Charlie lay his hand on his friends shoulder and grinned. "Just as you say, old friend. Is there anything worth looking at in the nursery?"

grinned and Al felt he was witness to an insider joke.

The blond wizard led the way down a narrow path towards some buildings they had seen from above.

"I´m sure Charlie told you everything about our dragon sanctuary, but I´ll sum it up as a reminder," he said in the tone of an experienced guide. "We´re giving a home to dragons from all over Europe when it´s needed, but we actually work with the Norwegian Ridgeback and the Hungarian Horntail. We also breed these two races here in the Retezat Mountains. Our sanctuary is part of a muggle national park. The muggle authorities think that they´re protecting rare plants."

They reached the first building. "This is our breeding station, or nursery as we call it. We breed twenty to thirty eggs per season, from which we get fifteen to twenty-five surviving dragons." ushered them inside. "The problem with dragons is that they´re great at protecting their young, but not so good at nursing them. In the wilds, only about thirty percent of a clutch survive their first week. That´s why we take eggs from the dragons to breed. Our percentage is much higher. The problem is that a dragon can be kept for half a year at the most, then we have to set them free. Most don´t survive their first year. But with our help we are able to increase the number of dragons reaching adulthood from a clutch from one up to three."

"How many eggs are in a clutch?" asked James.

"That depends on the race. The Norwegian Ridgeback lays about twelve eggs, the Hungarian Horntail up to twenty-five. Other dragons lay only one or two and others up to fifty. We never take the whole clutch, but only some. It´s important that the mother dragon has still something to hatch." Mr. Popescu opened a door and they entered a room full of small paddocks. One was occupied by a group of five winged creatures.

The children gasped.

"Beautiful!" cried Uncle Charlie. "They hatched yesterday, I guess?"

"In the evening," said . "A good clutch. We had only six eggs."

The five baby dragons were gathered under a warming lamp and twittered softly when they heard the wizards´ voices.

"It´s time for their meal," grinned . "Who wants to hold a bottle?"

Feeding the dragon was fun and for the first time Al considered working with dragons later. The small creature sucked the nipple eagerly. True, the content of the bottle – a mixture of blood and firewhisky – was disgusting, but the happy twittering and flapping of wings was too cute.

"Be careful when they burp," said Uncle Charlie. He had his wand at the ready and Al got a taste of what it was for, when his baby dragon burped and emitted a cloud of fire, which narrowly missed him.

After feeding the baby dragons, showed them the paddocks around the station. There were more dragons. The smallest, barely bigger than the babies in the nursery, were the size of cats and the biggest, Horntails, which were to be released to the wilds in a week, were the size of donkeys.

They weren´t allowed to go near the half-grown Horntails as they were "able to produce jets of fire up to four meters." Al thought ´s pride was a bit irritating, but then he saw an equal light of enthusiasm in Uncle Charlie´s eyes, which was a bit of reassurance. Uncle Charlie was not mad. That, the boy knew for sure.

-x-

The next day was even more exciting. Uncle Charlie took them hiking in the mountains. Petit, the elf, was to accompany them and carry their lunch. Al thought it was nice to give the creature an outing and the elf himself seemed only too happy about their trip.

"Don´t leave the path," ordered Uncle Charlie. "We´re going to see plenty of dragons from the path and there are spells to keep the beasts away from us. No exceptions."

Later, Al thought that it had been pretty naive of the man to assume that a bunch of Gryffindors was going to obey. Especially as he had been one himself. It took barely half an hour until the assembled Gryffindors were running through the woods, happily shouting for the others to join them when they had found something interesting. It took only ten minutes more to get them into serious trouble.

Rose and James had found an interesting flower and Rose cried for Al to come as she thought she had seen a picture of the bloom in her potions book. Al, not wanting to be considered a coward, had followed her voice and found himself eye to eye with a Hungarian Horntail just when he reached his brother and cousin.

While Al still considered whether the dragon was going to be upset by their voices if they cried for help, Rose acted on her Gryffindor boldness and shrieked for Uncle Charlie at the top of her lungs.

The dragon keeper rushed through the underbrushes at admirable speed. Al heard Auntie Brenda gather the others on the path in the distance.

"Don´t move!" cried Uncle Charlie and fired a spell at the dragon. The huge creature turned its head to face the new human.

Al thought that they were lucky that the dragon was not breeding, but then he saw two young behind the vicious looking beast and he knew that this was worse than he had thought on first view.

Uncle Charlie fired spell after spell, but the dragon wouldn´t flinch. Instead it spit fire at the wizard and the dragon keeper could barely shield from the onslaught.

"He needs help," whispered James, "nobody can handle a grown Horntail alone. You need five wizards at least!"

Al shuddered. How were they supposed to get so many wizards? He doubted that Auntie Brenda and Teddy Lupin were able to help with a dragon.

Then everything happened very fast. Petit materialised in front of Uncle Charlie.

"Dragon is not going to hurt Master!" the small elf shouted.

The dragon, of course, couldn´t care less and produced another jet of fire, which surrounded the elf instantaneously. Al thought the tiny creature was lost, but then the fire was driven back and the small elf stood proud. The jet of fire was directed against the dragon and with a howl of pain the beast retreated.

Uncle Charlie took James and Rose by their necks and drew them back to the path, shaking them angrily from time to time.

Al waited until Petit trotted behind Uncle Charlie and walked beside the elf.

"Thank you," he said softly. "That was very impressive."

"Petit can´t let dragon kill Master," the elf answered in an equally low voice, "or Petit was a bad elf."

"You put yourself in danger."

"Petit served Master."

The whole way back Al tried to understand how a creature, which was able to fend off a dragon singlehandedly, could find pleasure in being enslaved to another, who couldn´t.

-x-

Uncle Charlie was angry beyond measure. Auntie Brenda was as frightened as her husband was irate.

They spent the rest of the day near the station and Uncle Charlie made them clean and cut the vegetables for dinner.

Petit looked very unhappy. It was as if the elf was punished, too. But then, he was, Al realised. Petit enjoyed cooking and it was taken from him. He slipped the elf some carrots to cut and the small creature beamed at him happily.

-x-

Uncle Charlie lectured them on proper behaviour in a dragon sanctuary for nearly an hour the next morning. Al thought it was amazing how one could make a speech out of "Stay on the path, do what you´re told or you´ll go straight back home" when they were angry enough.

Then they went back for their hiking trip. Auntie Brenda was very nervous and Uncle Charlie had accompany them to put her a bit at ease. The children were made go in pairs, holding their hands as if they were toddlers. Al could feel how uneasy James felt holding his little brother´s hand and he, Al, himself felt not much better.

They followed the angry dragon keeper through the woodland and up to the mountains. and Teddy made up the rear, chatting merrily all the time.

First, Al tried to ignore them, but then he heard tell Teddy about how his mother had been a British dragon keeper and had married a Romanian colleague and how he, Traian, had been born at the station and grown up there and known all the time that he was going to be a dragon keeper himself when he was old enough.

"It´s good to follow your father´s path," said . "You know about the job and there are no bad surprises about what it is like. It´s ideal."

"I can´t do that," said Teddy Lupin sadly. "My father was a werewolf and he never kept a job for long. He was a good man, I´ve been told, but being what he was made everything so difficult for him."

"Was? He´s dead?"

"He was killed in the final battle against Voldemort," explained Teddy. "They say he was killed by his own in-laws for besmirching a pure-blood family. But I can´t believe that. My pure-blood grandmother raised me and she always spoke highly about dad."

"Then you surely have someone else who could be a rolemodel for you."

"Hm, Uncle Harry, maybe. My godfather. But then he´s a war hero. I´m not sure I want to persue that path of career. I started healer training. I think that will be a worthwile career."

"Healer? Oh, yes! My Uncle Chester is one. He says it´s a wonderful profession."

They were interrupted by Uncle Charlie, who had reached a bend of the path. "Look over there!"

They gathered around him and looked where he had pointed them. There was a group of seven dragons, all Norwegian Ridgebacks. Three young were playing and the older specimen were resting lazily on the rocks.

"The big one is Elena, our most successful breeder," explained . "There comes her mate, Norbert." He pointed up, where a huge dragon with a cow in its claws slowly descended towards the waiting flock.

"Norbert? That doesn´t sound very Romanian," laughed Artie.

"Actually Norbert comes from Britain," said .

"Hagrid himself named him," whispered Uncle Charlie.

"Really?" cried Rose. "How come?"

The youngsters looked at their uncle expectantly and he promised to tell more in the evening.

-x-

It was an unbelievable tale about Hagrid getting a dragon egg, trying to raise the dragon in his hut and finally getting rid of it with the help of Dad, Uncle Ron and Auntie Mione. Uncle Charlie even claimed that Mr. Popescu had been among those coming to get Norbert, the dragon, from the Astronomy tower.

Al could barely believe that Auntie Mione would ever participate in such a foolish adventure as smuggling a dragon up on the tower. He´d have to ask Snape when he spoke to him next time, but then he remembered that the tower hadn´t been haunted back then and that its inhabitant had been happily going about his business in the dungeons at that time. Well, perhaps not happily, but alive.

"Did you know Professor Snape?" Al asked eagerly.

"Why would you ask?" Uncle Charlie was surprised.

"He´s exploring his two namesakes," laughed James. "He´s driving Mum and Dad crazy. It´s Dumbledore here and Snape there all the time."

"It is not!" cried Al.

"Well, I think it´s wise to want to know about who you were named for," said Uncle Charlie. "It´s easy for you. There´s plenty of information about James Potter in history books, but it´s different with Snape. Snape was a double agent. There´s not much about him in the books and what is there is not very reliable."

"See," muttered Al.

"Professor Snape was my potions teacher," said Uncle Charlie kindly. "He was a very skilled potioneer and a good teacher. Strict, yes, sometimes mean, yes, but a good teacher. His lessons were well prepared and he made sure we succeeded in our exams. Hogwarts graduates have become sought in the field of potion making while he was potions master there. An E in potions from Hogwarts was esteemed higher than an O from other schools. I myself turned down two offers to go into potion making before I went to Romania."

Al remembered that Uncle Charlie had started a career at ´s as a potion brewer when he returned from Romania. His area of expertise were potions to cure beast-induced injuries.

"Enough about old Snape," said James. "Tell us more about Dad carrying a dragon through the castle."

-x-

The rest of the week was fun. Uncle Charlie seemed to have forgotten about the incident with the horntail and they made more trips to the mountains. They saw not only ridgebacks and horntails, but also other dragons, though no young. There was a Chinese Fireball and also a Scottish Longnose. The biggest dragon they saw was an African Firesnout, which was nearly thirty meters long and its fangs had to be longer than Al´s arms.

"Those can breathe fire up to a distance of fifty meters," said Mr. Popescu, who had joined them again. "We´re quite relieved that there is no mate for this one. It´s difficult to handle and we caught it twice attacking smaller dragons. It will be moved to Zambia in October. The Zambian ministry is working on a dragon keeper training program for their staff to move it. This one is the first, which will be resettled as an adult."

-x-

Mum and Dad were not amused by the fact that their sons had played a part in having their uncle nearly eaten by a vicious dragon. Although Uncle Charlie reassured them that it ´had been no problem´, Mum kept nagging at them for hours. Dad, who usually sided with his sons as soon as he thought they had had their share of punishment, listened unblinkingly while his wife described vividly what she was going to do to them if they endangered a family member – or anyone else – due to their stupidity and disobedience ever again.

Al wondered, whether most of the things she threatened them with were even possible without actually killing them and bit back a question of why it was called bravery when Dad had handled a dragon at the age of eleven, because it would earn him another lecture on cheek.


	17. Summer holidays, part 2

The next few days were spent at home. Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur came to visit and Mum was back to her friendly self. Gran Molly brought Lily´s favourite cherry pie and Granpa spent hours with Al and James discussing the benefits of electrical alarm clocks.

Then it was time. Dad had two weeks off work and they were going to Disney World!

Al had been looking forward to the trip ever since Dad mentioned it.

The best thing of all was that they were going on a muggle plane! Mum and Dad had discussed various means of travelling and at last had decided that, with three children, the muggle way was best.

The flight itself was not as interesting as Al had hoped for. The food was inferior compared to what Kreacher cooked. They were shown a movie, but even Al himself could have done the magic – special effects, muggles called it – better than those film guys. And he was only in first year!

Disney World, on the other hand, was marvellous. Lily wanted to stay at the cinderella castle all the time, but Dad wouldn´t have it and he and the boys explored the other sights while Mum and Lily dwelled on princesses and fairies.

Of course, the Animal Kingdom was a bit lame compared to the dragon sanctuary, but the fact that the animals were all muggle was astounding. A crocodile was not so much less scary than a dragon. True, a bit of fire would have added nicely to the effect, but the teeth were not bad.

Dad enjoyed himself immensely. Al guessed that taking your children to a muggle theme park was very relaxing when you spent your days hunting down bad people all the time. They took rides in boats and roller coasters, they watched parades and had their meals in fancy restaurants.

Lily and Mum must have spent hours upon hours of shopping, because the main room of the Potter suite was soon filled with parcels and bags.

Dad registered the heap of bags with a smile the first days, then with a lopsided grin and after a week with an angry glare.

"Really, Ginny," Dad said, trying to sound cheerful, but Al asked himself who he thought he could fool. They all knew him. "It´s getting too much. Look at that! How many Micky Mouse shirts can one child wear?"

"They´re not for one child, silly," teased Mum. "We´re buying souvenirs!"

"For whom?" mused Dad. "The entire Hogwarts student body? Has McGonagall grown tired of black robes for uniforms and we´re to provide her with Micky Mouse T-shirts to replace them?"

This gave Al an idea. "Mum, can I get Micky Mouse shirts for the boys?"

Dad gave Al a death glare.

"On second thought," piped the boy, "perhaps Slytherins don´t wear Micky Mouse shirts anyway."

"Don´t you dare spoil my son´s holiday," Mum snapped at Dad.

"He´s my son, too," Dad snapped back, "and therefore he´s reasonable and not susceptible to frantic shopping."

"I´m not doing frantic shopping!" Mum´s voice grew louder word by word.

"Ah, aren´t you? I took the liberty of summing up how much you spent. Do you know how much that is in galleons?"

"Are you keeping account of my expenses?" Mum was furious now. "How dare you, Harry Potter!"

"You spent two thousand galleons for souvenirs!"

"So what! We have a big family! And it´s not that we don´t have the money!"

Lily chose that moment to show Dad the Micky Mouse nose hair cutter they had bought for Granpa Arthur and Dad exploded.

James was the quickest to react. "Take you swimming bags!" he cried and dragged them down to the swimming pool.

"Doesn´t Dad like the presents we got?" Lily asked innocently.

"Well," said Al as he spread his towel on a deckchair, "it´s not the presents, it´s the bills he doesn´t like."

"Oh," said Lily. "Are we poor?"

"No," laughed James, "but Dad likes to keep his money."

The Potter children spent the whole afternoon by the poolside. Whenever Lily wanted to go into the water, she was accompanied by a brother while the other watched from the outside, ready to get help in case of an emergency.

It was Al´s turn to watch while Lily and James made good use of the chute when Mum and Dad came to the pool.

"Where have you been? We have been looking for you!" Mum whispered urgently.

"We have been looking for you," Dad echoed.

"We went swimming," Al explained the obvious.

"I told you that I don´t want you to go into the water alone," Mum hissed.

"None of us went alone and we never went all at the same time. I´m watching Lily and James right now," said Al.

"What clever children we have," Dad grinned. "They proctor themselves."

Mum shot him an angry look and the grin dissolved.

"Mum," said Al, "can we have dinner in our room today? I´d like to spend the evening with the family."

"Of course, pumpkin," said Mum and her angry glare made room for a sweet smile.

Dad looked relieved. "Would you like to go shopping in the meantime? I can stay with the children," he held out his wallet to mum.

Mum accepted the silent apology and refused with a kind smile.

They had salad and roast chicken for dinner and the next day Mum took Al shopping for shirts for his friends.

-x-

After a week at Disney World, they returned to Europe via plane. Mum had insisted on a week at the seaside and Dad had surprised her and the rest of the family by booking a trip to southern France.

They stayed at a cottage near the city of Nice, with only a five minute walk to the beach. Dad put up magical wards to fend off muggles from their beach – normally he wouldn´t use magic for this, but the week at the theme park had ´provided enough muggle contact for three months.

Dad went shopping every morning – enduring more muggle contact – and they had croissants and café au lait (coffee with so much milk that even kids could drink it) for breakfast. Mum kept pointing out how much she felt spoiled and the quarrel about the souvenirs was forgotten.

The family went to the beach every day. Al was for once glad that he was no typical Weasley, but rather a Potter with his dark hair. He and Dad got a nice tan within hours while Mum, James and Lily had to put on loads of sun tan potion and their skin became rather red than brown. Dad conjured parasols for Mum and Lily and sunshades for himself and the boys, but neither of the Potter men used it much. They spent most of the time playing in the water.

Mum prepared dinner herself every evening. She wasn´t as good at cooking as Kreacher, but she let the children help and this made the meals a special treat. Dad joined the fun happily and it turned out that he was an expert at chopping ingredients. Al guessed that Dad needed to brew a lot of potions in his permanent battle against evil wizards.

It was the second but last evening at France, when Al felt his locket grow warm on his skin. He excused himself from the table and opened it as soon as he had reached the privacy of his room.

"Severus!" he greeted his namesake happily. "How are you?"

"I´m well, thank you," the portrait replied solemnly. "And yourself? Are you enjoying your holiday?"

"A lot!" the boy informed his friend. "A pity you couldn´t come earlier! You missed Disney World!"

"Oh yes, a pity," Snape´s voice was oozing sarcasm. "How could I miss that kids´ stuff."

"Hello?" Al protested. "Actually I am a kid! I told you I like kids´ stuff."

"You are not a kid, you are a Slytherin. And as such you are expected not to become engrossed in childish activities. I have been told that you will be twelve next week. You should start acting like it."

Al beamed. Snape had bothered to find out his birthday! How nice!

"So, is this my birthday visit? How long can you stay?"

"It is. The headmistress needs me next week, so I had to come a bit early. She gave me leave for twenty-four hours. Unless an emergency occures, that is."

"Twenty-four hours?" Al beamed. "You can go to the beach with us! I didn´t ask when I last saw you, but may I tell my family about you? Dad already knows we met."

"The headmistress told him about the locket," said Snape. "She wouldn´t give you a magical item without informing a parent. You may tell your siblings, if you think they will be able to keep it a secret. I don´t want this to be public knowledge."

"I´ll ask them not to tell," promised Al, "but why don´t you want them to? The locket isn´t illegal, is it?"

"Not at all," Snape reassured him, "but it´s quite out of the ordinary for a former Hogwarts headmaster to give his portrait to a common person. We headmasters," the portrait sounded proud, "are bound to serve the current head of the school. This is a timeconsuming task, which leaves us not much time to visit our other portraits unless we´re sent by the current headmaster. The portrait I gave you gives you access to the most brilliant witches and wizards of the past millenium. If you call me in case of emergency and I can´t help, I can go and ask them for you. Many would want a locket like this."

Al had never thought of the locket as a link to power and knowledge. For him, it had been a link to his friend Severus. He blushed.

"I wasn´t aware it was that precious," he mumbled.

Snape huffed.

"Don´t misunderstand me," the boy hurried to say, "it´s priceless for me, but that´s not because of those other witches or wizards. It´s because I can talk to you."

"That´s what you got it for," Snape growled. "So what about introducing me to the rest of the Potters. And I mean Potters. The permission to tell the family does not include anybody called Weasley!"

Al laughed. Telling every Weasley would come close to making it public, given the number of Weasleys.

He adjusted the locket´s lid to the backside of the small item. This way Snape´s portrait could see what Al saw as long as the locket stayed on top of the boy´s clothes.

Then he walked back to dinner.

-x-

"Ah, here you are, pumpkin," Mum smiled. "Do you want to finish your chicken? I kept it warm."

"I´d rather join you for dessert, if I may," Al replied as he sat down.

Mum took Al´s plate to the kitchen and returned with five bowls of mousse au chocolat. The children indulged in the sweet cream dish with enthusiasm, but Dad tried his rather carefully. His face lit up as soon as his tongue had touched the pudding.

"Is there a special ingredient just for me?" he asked Mum impishly.

"No, silly," Mum winked. "I have it, too."

"I never thought I´d live to see Harry Potter wet his pants over a dash of firewhisky. Well, strictly speaking, I didn´t," the portrait made itself heard.

Dad had his wand in his hand by the third word, Mum hers by the fifth.

"Never startle me like this again, Snape," Dad hissed at the portrait as he put his wand back up his sleeve.

"Excuse me, Sir," Mum glared at the locket, "but I´d never spike mousse au chocolat with something as profane as firewhisky. I used finest cognac."

"Nervous, Potter?" Snape sneered ignoring Mum.

"You wish!" Dad snapped back and took another spoon of his dessert.

Their exchange was interrupted by a soft whimpering. Lily was in tears. "What´s the matter, dear?" Mum asked kindly and stroked the girl´s locks.

"Al´s possessed! How can you be so calm?" Lily´s brown eyes were full of desperation.

"Al, show her," Dad ordered.

The boy leaned a bit closer and showed the locket to his little sister. "This is Severus Snape, the wizard I´m named for. The bravest Dad ever knew."

Snape smirked in Dad´s direction and Lily wiped her eyes with her palms.

"Merlin, stop crying, girl, or your grandmother will be ashamed that you´re named for her," the former headmaster said sternly.

Lily wailed at the idea of shaming her grandmother and new tears fell from her eyes.

"Still having a way with children, Snape?" Dad asked pointedly. "Ignore the nasty painting, Lily. It knows nothing."

"A nasty painting," Lily echoed faintly.

"Cool! How did you get your private headmaster?" James asked eagerly. "Dad, can I get grandfather´s portrait?" He eyed the locket enviously.

"Don´t be silly, dear," Mum scolded. "Grandfather wasn´t headmaster at Hogwarts. You can have another photograph, but it won´t talk to you. Luckily."

"Luckily," the portrait agreed.

"Luckily?" James was clearly eager to learn more. Maybe namesakes weren´t so boring after all.

"Luckily," huffed Snape, "because your grandfather was a reknown trouble-maker and cruel swine."

"He was not!" Dad was angry now. "You will speak politely about my father or not at all! Granpa James was a bit of a prankster, like Uncles George and Fred." The last was directed at the children.

"You´re insulting Fred and George Weasley."

"That´s it!" Dad was livid now. "Al, close that locket. My father will not be insulted under my roof."

Al obeyed, though reluctantly. "Technically this is not your roof!" The portrait argued, but before Snape could say any more, the locket snapped shut.

Al finished his dessert quickly and then asked for permission to retire.

"You may," said Dad sternly, "but if he speaks ill about any member of this family, be they alive or dead, you will close that locket and not listen to it!"

-x-

"Severus?"

Al was a bit nervous the ghost – hang on, Snape wasn´t a ghost any longer! – the portrait had left. It would have been what the grumpy ghost he had met on the Astronomy tower ten months earlier would have done. As long as the boy knew him, Snape had been easily offended and had punished him with silence for weeks every time.

"I´m still here," Snape said softly and blinked as his eyes met the light in Al´s room.

"I´m glad you are," cried Al. "I feared you were cross with me and gone."

The portrait smiled. "Why would I be cross with the person who saved my soul? You didn´t do anything. I had a difference of opinion with your father. That´s not exactly a new thing."

"I thought you worked together to defeat the Evil One?" Al was bewildered.

"We did," Snape said with dignity. "But that doesn´t mean that we liked each other or were friendly with each other. We didn´t get on very well."

Al found it difficult to believe that anybody would have troubles to be friendly with his dad. Dad was such a nice man! How could anybody but like him? The boy knew better though than to push his luck and ask.

"You knew my Grandpa James?" Al thought the change of topic was a clever move, but Snape said nothing at all. "Did I misunderstand back there?" Al asked after a little while.

"Not at all. I knew him, but there´s nothing nice I can say about him. As your father ordered you to close the locket if I say something unpleasant, I will say nothing. I´ve come to see you, not to sleep in a dark enclosure."

Al felt somehow moved that the former headmaster´d rather be silent than lose the opportunity to chat with him. He seemed to have enjoyed abusing Grandpa James. Nevertheless Al thought it was a pity Snape wasn´t willing to talk. It would be cool to learn more about Grandpa James.

"Is there anything new at Hogwarts?" he asked politely after another short pause.

"Not much," said Snape. "The headmistress is quite occupied with administrative work. Albus – headmaster Dumbledore – left for two hours without permission. It turned out that he has a secret portrait at Honeydukes and was indulging in sweets." He paused. "Well, in the sight of sweets."

Al giggled. He hadn´t seen much of his other namesake. Back in June he was too exhausted to even spot his portrait at the headmistress´ office. So all he knew about Albus Dumbledore was from history books and occasional remarks from his family. And the chocolate frog card, of course. "Is this typical behaviour for him?" he asked curiously.

"Definitely," Snape cried. "I´ve never known a man with such a sweet tooth. If you ever were to build a trap for Albus Dumbledore, you´d have to use lemon drops as bait."

"I like lemon drops, too," Al sniggered.

"Splendid," cried the portrait. "You get named after two Hogwarts headmasters and you follow their footsteps. You have the sweet tooth of the one and belong to the house of the other. Better than the other way round."

"Why´s that?"

"The other way round you´d be a Gryffindor with a fondness for black coffee."

"Urgh," Al made a face.

"You´re right," giggled Snape, "but the coffee´s not so bad a habit."

They made fun for another hour. It was like never before, as if finally moving on to the afterlife had made Snape more relaxed, more easy. Perhaps he only wanted to make the best of the time he had with Al, whom he had confessed to love like a son. Anyway, the boy was not going to spoil the good mood by questioning Snape´s motives.

-x-

The Potter family went to the beach after breakfast like it had been agreed upon before Severus had turned up in Al´s locket in the evening.

"You don´t mind going to the beach, do you?" Al asked cautiously. He himself loved the beach and wouldn´t like to miss a day there, but if Severus refused to go, he´d – grudgingly – stay behind with him. The boy was aware that the former headmaster paying him a visit was a treat only few were granted. Probably he was the only person alive who had a private portrait of a former Hogwarts principal.

"Not at all," said the portrait. "I´ve never been to the beach before. Just ask your father to put a protective charm on me. We don´t want my colours to smear if I get wet."

Al did it first thing when they arrived by the seaside and Dad put the charm on the locket with a lazy flick of his wand.

Al put up his sunshade and spread out a large yellow towel as a blanket to sit on. Then he stripped down to his swimming trunks, yellow with Donald Duck on the left buttock. James had a matching orange pair with Goofy. Mum and Lily wore green bikinis (Lily´s had Cinderella on the bra, but Mum´s was only dull green.)

Al watched eagerly as Dad took off his clothes. Dad had a game on with Mum. Every day he spelled a temporary tattoo on himself. Al wasn´t sure what the whole thing was about, but Mum always looked very pleased when she inspected the day´s image.

"Cool!" chorused the three Potter children.

Today´s picture was a hippogriff on Dad´s chest. It was standing on its hind legs, its wings spread wide and its claws ready to attack. The hippogriff´s eyes matched Dad´s.

"Mmmh," purred Mum at the sight of the vicious beast.

The children gathered around Dad to have a closer look at the winged creature.

"How did you do that?" James asked eagerly, like every day.

"As if I´d tell you!" Dad laughed, like every day.

"As if Mum´d let you!" James cried cheekily. Like every day, Dad glared at him threateningly and James sped off towards the water.

"I´ll have a look later," laughed Mum and Dad looked a bit disappointed. "I´ll go for some ice-cream. Anyone want to come with me?"

"I´ll come," cried Lily. "I want to choose myself!"

Mum and Lily walked along the water-line. There was a muggle ice-cream stall just behind the anti-muggle barrier Dad had put up when they arrived.

"A hippogriff?" Snape asked in disbelief when Al and Dad were alone. "A bit of a showoff, aren´t we, Potter?"

Al tensed. Were Dad and Severus going to quarrel again? It had been a close call yesterday evening. Al had feared either Dad to throw Severus out or Severus to leave in anger.

"You know, Snape," Dad mused, "I should have let him buy you a Micky Mouse T-shirt."

"A what?" Being a wizard, Severus had no idea what Dad was talking about.

"A Micky Mouse T-shirt." Dad rummaged in his bag and produced a Micky Mouse towel. "A shirt with this lovely creature on it."

Severus sounded disgusted. "Why would a portrait need a shirt?"

"You think I couldn´t spell it on you?"

"Don´t you dare!"

"One more nasty comment about my tattoo and I´ll make it a permanent spell." Dad grinned.

"I will not sit here and be threatened," Snape snapped. Al´s stomach dropped. Snape was going to leave. But he was not. "Al," said Snape much friendlier than he had been with Dad, "I´ve never tried swimming in the sea. Kindly take me into the water."

"My pleasure," grinned Al and went after James into the Mediterranean Sea.

-x-

"That was wonderful, thank you," Severus said when Al waded out of the sea twenty minutes later to get an ice-cream. "Very interesting."

"Interesting?" This wasn´t the word Al would have chosen. Enjoyable. Relaxing. Wet. But interesting?

"I wasn´t aware there were so many different species in the sea." Severus sounded nearly enthusiastic.

"Species? There were just me and James."

"You forget that I was under water the whole time. I saw at least a dozen different fish, more kinds of water plants than I ever saw before. And I´m only talking about the beauty of it. Just think of the possibilities for a potions master!"

"Hey, it´s my holiday!" Al protested.

"A Slytherin seizes an opportunity when it arrises. Go to your father and ask him for a bubblehead charm, waterproof parchment and ink. If he refuses to let you go underwater alone, I offer to take your brother with us."

It was was not only James, but also Dad who accompanied them. The three Potter men wore bubbles. The boys had parchment and quills, Dad brought his wand. Al was a bit disappointed. He had hoped to spend some fun time with his friend, not a lesson.

The boy was in for a surprise. The underwater world of the Mediterranean Sea was colourful and rich in shapes. True, Severus lectured them on the brewing properties of cuttlefish for nearly half an hour, but it turned out that he was a great teacher. His passion was infectious and his knowledge astonishing. Ten minutes into the lecture Dad conjured more parchment and started to take notes, too.

Severus mentioned a potion to cure acne, one to correct eye-sight, one to cause a false sense of security and a rather obscure love-potion. Dad reminded the portrait of the boys´ age when it came to discussing the love-potion and Severus changed the topic to eels, which were rather boring in comparison. They were only used for potions to feed baby kneazles, or at least those were the only ones Severus spoke about.

"This was so cool!" James announced when they returned to Mum and Lily two hours later.

"Really, dear," Mum smiled.

Lily, who had been offended that neither Mum nor Dad wouldn´t allow her to go with them, hopped around her big brother like a bouncing ball. "Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" she begged.

"We saw so many animals," cried Al, "and Severus told us what they´re good for in potions. I always liked the subject, but with Severus it´s even more interesting."

"Did you know that you can make love-potions from cuttlefish?" James asked his mother.

"And we saw an eel," Al added cheerfully.

Mum glared at the portrait Al was wearing around his neck. "You didn´t tell my sons about yeti juice, did you? I don´t want my boys to spike people´s drinks with a hair growing potion!"

"I didn´t," Severus replied smugly, "that I left to you."

Mum did an excellent imitation of a stranded barbel.

"Never mind, Mum," James laughed and patted her shoulder, "we know about yeti juice. It´s not even in Hogwarts´ restricted section. Everybody can borrow the recipe."

"I have to have a word with Minerva," murmured Mum.

Severus chuckled and for the rest of the day they were pestered by Lily, who wanted to find out about yeti juice, too.

-x-

The rest of the holiday in France was a blur. James wanted to know everything about Severus and Al told him some, but only things he thought the former headmaster wouldn´t mind a Gryffindor knowing. He didn´t, of course, tell anything that could be considered a house secret.

When they returned home, it was visits with the Weasleys, which took them nearly two weeks. Rose and Hugo, who were closest to the Potter childrens´ age among the youngest generation of Weasleys, were enthusiastic about their souvenir T-shirts. Rose, Al and James agreed to wear matching shirts on the Hogwarts express when they returned to school for Al and Rose´s second year.


	18. A very important day

The start of the new school year drew inevitably nearer, but Al didn´t mind. Firstly, because he liked Hogwarts and secondly, because it also meant his birthday, the 29th of August drew nearer and this meant presents and hopefully a party.

"Whom would you like to invite?" Mum asked two days before Al´s birthday and Al didn´t have to think about it for one moment.

"Scorpius, Vern, Enrico, Rose and Circe," he ticked them off. He just hoped that Mum or Dad knew how to contact Circe´s family.

"Five?" Mum smiled.

"It´s more than last year," Al admitted, "but not too much." He just hoped it wasn´t. Up to this year he´d never had anybody to invite for a birthday party, who wasn´t related to him and called Weasley. Certainly Mum wasn´t going to make him chose, now that he had finally found some friends.

"No," laughed Mum, "it´s not too much." She ruffled up Al´s hair. "I´ll make some calls. You go and think about what you want to do at your party. And you need a theme for your decorations."

Al ran to search for James. James was good at party themes and Al hoped his big brother was going to help him come up with something cool.

"A hag party," James suggested. The older boy was more than pleased to be of assistance. "We can all dress up ugly."

Al bit his lip. He didn´t want Circe to dress up ugly and Scorpius wouldn´t want Rose to either.

"Nah, the girls won´t like it," he drawled.

James grinned knowingly. "What about beauty and the beast?" he suggested with a smirk. "The girls could come as princesses and we could still dress up ugly."

Al blushed. Was he that obvious? Slytherins were supposed to be sly and secretive! Perhaps the hat had made a mistake with him after all.

James giggled. "Oh, come on, little bro´, I was just teasing. What about a quidditch party? Everybody could wear their favourite team´s colours. It would be fun."

Al gave it a thought and agreed. It would be a good way to find out what team Circe favoured. The two Potter boys spent the next hour planning games for the quidditch birthday party.

"Al, dear," Mum peeked into Al´s room, where the two brothers lay on their bellies planning a scavenger hunt on broomsticks in the backyard. "I made some floo calls and your guests will come. Only Circe isn´t back from her holiday yet. Rose says they won´t return before the 30th."

Al tried to hide his disappointment, but Mum´s regretful smile made it clear he didn´t manage too well. So no Circe for his birthday it was. Well, the boys were coming, that was good. He just hoped that Scorpius wouldn´t spend more time flirting with Rose than playing with him.

-x-

Al´s fears were needless. Scorpius and Rose beamed at each other when they met, but Scorpius didn´t budge from his best friend´s side for a minute. The small blond wore a light blue sports outfit with dark blue stripes, the colours of the Tutshill Tornados. The Potter children were, of course, clad in dark green with a golden talon on their chest, the typical outfit of Holyhead Harpies fans and – Al had never seen it this way before, but pointed it out to James with glee that morning – very appropriate for a Slytherin.

Vern sported a Harpies outfit, too. Being muggleborn he didn´t know much about quidditch and when Mum had uttered the invitation had asked for help. Mum had asked if it was okay when he got the same outfit as Al and Vern had agreed only too gladly.

Rose and Hugo, following a Weasley tradition, came in orange, the colour of the Chudley Cannons.

Enrico came last and he wore Caerphilly Catapults robes, which were light green and scarlet.

"Al!" he cried happily and hugged the birthday boy. "How was your summer? Mine was great! I must tell you all about Italy, when we have time! Where do I put your present?"

Al pointed his friend to a small table by the fireplace, where a small pile of presents waited to be opened. When Enrico had added his parcel to the pile, Al led the way to the yard, where the others were waiting. There were two tables prepared. One for the children and one for the adults.

Uncle Ron and Auntie Mione had accompanied their children. had come with Scorpius – he and Uncle Ron tried to stare each other down like angry bulldogs until Auntie Mione slapped Uncle Ron on the back of his head and Mum asked ´s opinion on which potion to use to keep Nifflers out of the garden. Vern had come with his father – ´come´ meaning Dad taking them side by side. The adults wore quidditch fan robes as well, but Mum who had put on her old professional sportswear.

The children were all there, but there were still two empty seats at the adult table and Al wondered, whom Mum had asked to come. The missing guests came shortly after Enrico and caused quite a racket not only among the children, but also with Uncle Ron and .

It were Mum´s old friends and the Potter children´s honorary aunts Superbia Snapshot, Harpies´ chaser and captain 2000-2013, and Divina Doyen, Harpies´ seeker 2000-2004, Ballycastle Bats´ seeker 2004-2007 and captain of the English National Team from 2006-2011. Both sported robes in the Harpies´ colours, but instead of the talons they had magicked a picture of Al on their chests.

"I thought you had no idea your family was famous!" whispered Scorpius when they finally all settled down for the food.

"I knew about Mum," Al whispered back, "I just had no idea Dad was a hero. I mean, my Gran has all those photos of the family on her mantlepiece and wherever there seems to be a public ceremony going on, Mum´s in her quidditch robes. I thought it was all about Mum."

"But it wasn´t?"

"No! Actually Gran told me this summer that one of the photos was from Dad´s presentation of his Order of Merlin" – Scorpius and Enrico took in sharp breaths – "and the reason Mum wore her quidditch robes was that she had a match before and Dad insisted she be there or he wouldn´t accept the Order. So she came to the ceremony on her broomstick right after the snitch was caught. Luckily she was playing in London that day."

Kreacher served finger food and little cakes. Winky brought the food to the adult table.

"Kreacher," asked Al curiously, "where is Reggy?"

"Reggy is preparing," Kreacher answered proudly and hurried away towards the kitchen.

Al had no idea what the whole thing was about, but was quickly distracted by his friends. After the food they played quidditch games. Mum and aunties Superbia and Divina played with them and soon all children were exhausted but happy. Al was granted permission to show the children around the house a bit, while the adults played a game as well.

James dragged Rose to his room to ´talk about Gryffindor business´. Lily and Hugo looked at Lily´s Disney World pictures, Vern and Enrico talked about Italy, so it was only Scorpius who followed Al to his room, but both were rather happy about that. They were best friends after all.

"You´ll never guess!" cried Scorpius as soon as the door had closed on them. "I´m going to be a big brother!"

"Wow!" cried Al. "When?"

"In February, they say. I´m so looking forward to it! I won´t be the baby in the family any longer."

Al laughed. Scorpius as a twelve year old baby was too funny.

"You have to tell me everything about being a big brother," Scorpius continued. "I want to be the best big brother there is."

"You will be," laughed Al, "it´s fairly easy. You have to be nice to your little sister and lend her your toys."

"Who says I´ll have a little sister?" Scorpius turned up his nose. "I want a brother! We can play quidditch!"

"It will take some time before your brother can play quidditch and Lily is a decent player. Little sisters are okay."

"I want a brother," pouted Scorpius.

They both laughed. Al used their privacy to give Scorpius a report of Severus´ visit and to give him a Donald Duck card game he had bought for him as a souvenir.

"They don´t explode or something?" Scorpius asked suspiciously.

"No, they´re muggle. They´re funny because of the duck on it. You can play Old Maid with them."

"Great! We can play on the Express with the girls," Scorpius grinned and pocketed his cards.

When they returned downstairs a little later – Dad, and Uncle Ron had beaten the ex-pros and were beside themselves – Al was allowed to open his presents. His guests sat on the sofas, armchairs and carpets while Al unwrapped his gifts.

There were two new books (a muggle adventure story and a charms book) from Auntie Mione, a pair of quidditch gloves from the Malfoys, a CD from Vern, tickets for next year´s world cup from Aunties Divina and Superbia, a jumper from Gran Molly, robes, cloaks and tons of sweets from the rest of the family. At last there were only two parcels left.

Al opened Mum and Dad´s first. In it was a brandnew Quantum Leap 2018! Al was lost for words! Of course, James had gotten a broomstick for his twelfth birthday, but never had he thought that he´d get one, too. James was a better flyer, so it made sense to give him a new one, but Al would have been happy to get a better used broom than he was flying now.

The second parcel contained a silver ring. It was from Enrico.

"A ring?" teased Scorpius good-naturedly, "shouldn´t you be on your knees then?"

Enrico blushed. "It´s an Etruscan dark detector," he explained. "The stone will glow red if Dark Magic is around."

It was only then that Al saw a tiny white stone.

"I thought we could do with those after last June. I have some for Vern and you, too," he glared at Scorpius. "But on second thought I´ll let the Dark get you."

Scorpius giggled. "Oh no, you won´t! You love me too much!"

Enrico blushed even more and slapped Scorpius playfully. Al grinned. Those two had come a long way since last September. "Of course," continued Enrico, "Al´s is the most beautiful, because it´s his birthday."

"I wish we could try it out," mused Al. "Does it really work?"

"I´d not expect too much if it´s the stuff they sell to tourists," said and the other adults agreed.

"We can test it," said Dad.

"You have dark objects in your home?" asked with mock interest.

"Of course not," stated Dad, "but maybe I can come up with a dark spell or two." He pointed his wand at an abandoned bow on the floor. Immediately the ring glowed red. "Not bad," said Dad and undid the spell on the bow. The ring returned to normal.

Al thanked everybody for their presents. Kreacher and Winky helped him carry them to his room. Then the whole party went outside for a piece of birthday cake and tea.

"There´s one last thing to do while you´re all here," Dad said before their guests could take their leave. "It´s an important event for our family and we´d be honoured to have you all here as witnesses. Hermione, if you please."

Dad and Hermione moved their chairs to opposite ends of the patio. Mum, Kreacher and Winky moved beside Dad, the two elves beamed with pride. Uncle Ron stood beside Auntie Hermione´s chair.

Mr. Malfoy and Aunties Superbia and Divina seemed to know what it was about, because all three looked proud to be there. Cousin Dudley and the children had no clue and looked rather curious than proud.

When everybody was in their place, Reggy came to the patio and stood in front of Dad.

"Master," the young elf said solemnly, "Master had work and didn´t call Reggy to do it!"

"Reggy," Dad answered with equal seriousness, "my work has been done without you. You´re not needed here. I received an offer for you."

"Master approves if Reggy goes where he is needed?"

"I approve."

"In this case Reggy wishes to go where his service is wished for." The young elf stripped of the pillowcase he was wearing and handed it to Dad. Dad folded it neatly and handed it to Kreacher, who hugged it to his chest. "I release you from the service to my family," Dad continued and handed Reggy a sock.

The naked elf took it and padded over to Auntie Mione, who smiled at him encouragingly as he approached.

"I made an offer to accept your service." She said when Reggy stood before her.

Reggy held out the sock to her. "Reggy received this from his previous master and is free to serve a new."

Auntie Mione took the sock from Reggy´s hand. "I bind you to my family," she stated.

"Reggy will serve his new Mistress and her family. He will keep her secrets and die if their happiness requires it."

Auntie Mione looked a bit sad at the last part of Reggy´s vow, but nevertheless she wrapped a tablecloth around the young elf as if it was a toga. Light blue sparkles of magic glistened around Reggy for the shortest of moments.

"You will stay with our host´s elves until I call you to go home." Auntie Mione ordered.

"Yes, Mistress." Reggy bowed low and went back to his mother and father. The two older elves beamed with pride and together the elves disappeared into the house.

Little later, the guests departed (not before the other Slytherin boys getting their Micky Mouse shirts). The Weasleys stayed behind, even waited until Dad had returned from bringing Cousins Dudley and Vern home. When they finally turned to leave, Auntie Mione called "Reggy!" and all three elves appeared with a crack.

"Thanks again for taking him," said Dad and hugged Auntie Mione. "I couldn´t give him to anybody when I couldn´t be sure he´d be treated well. Don´t forget to bring him along from time to time."

The Potters hugged Reggy good-bye one by one and hadn´t the young elf looked so proud, Al was sure they´d all have cried.

Then the Weasleys went home and Reggy was gone.

-x-

The next two days passed in a blur. Mum took them shopping for new school robes and books. They packed their trunks, Kreacher and Winky hurried to and fro with freshly laundered underwear and nightshirts. Lily pouted, because she still wasn´t allowed to go to Hogwarts, but was a bit soothed by the fact that this was going to be the last time she had to stay behind.

Far too soon it was the morning of September, 1st, and time to go to King´s Cross station.


	19. Start of Year 2

**Year Two**

King´s Cross was crowded as ever. Wizarding families from all over England came to platform 9 ¾ with their offspring. Strangely enough many apparated to the station. Apparating to Hogsmeade would have been the same effort, but the ride on the Hogwarts Express gave the children time to socialise, tell about their summer and get reaccostumed to being among their peers instead of their families. Only few wizarding parents wanted to deprive their children of that experience.

The Potters arrived rather late as every year. Dad blamed Mum and Lily for taking their time dressing, but Al knew now he didn´t want to spend more time in public than necessary. The platform was a real sight. There was a quite big group of youngsters in Micky Mouse T-shirts, it seemed as if Hogwarts had a fifth house. James had sent his friends some and Al´s birthday guests sported theirs as well.

James and Al hugged their parents and little sister good bye and then went to join their friends. Al was the last to arrive in their Slytherin/Gryffindor compartement.

"Finally," grinned Scorpius, who was the only one who combined his MM-shirt not with muggle jeans but black cotton trousers and a jacket. "Granpa said," he grinned at Al´s bewildered look and squared his shoulders. In a deep voice and with an excellent imitation of his grandfather´s stern facial expression he growled "Wear that ridiculous shirt if you have to, but don´t forget that a Malfoy will leave this house in muggle jeans only over my dead body!" The blond giggled. "Well," he continued in his normal voice, "I couldn´t kill Granpa, could I?"

Al laughed and his friends joined in. It was good to be with Scorpius, Vern, Enrico, Rose and Circe again. Circe was the only one who didn´t wear a muggle shirt. Al handed her a parcel wrapped in brown paper with a blush. "I got one for you, too," he said shyly. Circe beamed at him and urged Rose to come and help her. When the girls returned five minutes later, Circe´s outfit matched her friends´.

Al was just going to compliment her, when Enrico called them to the window. The Express was starting to move and they all waved their parents good bye.

The journey was fun. They chatted about their holidays – Vern was the only one who had spent the whole summer at home – for a while, played some games of muggle Old Maid with Scorpius´ new cards and made plans to meet with the girls on the weekends (Scorpius and Al).

It was strange to sit in the Great Hall with their house mates and wait for the first years, but Al prefered it over being stared at by the whole school by far. He watched Professor Longbottom lead the group of scared-looking first years to the stool on which the Sorting Hat awaited them.

After the hat´s song the sorting began and their house got new members. Al tried to remember their names from the sorting. "The hat´s trying to fill up Slytherin again," said Jonah some seats down the table as Samuel Abbot was sorted into the house of the snakes. "The Abbots are an old Hufflepuff family." Samuel didn´t seem too happy about his new house when he sat beside Vern.

"Hi, I´m Al!" Al smiled at the boy encouragingly. He remembered his own shock about being put into Slytherin too well and guessed a friendly welcome would make everything easier for the small blond. Samuel smiled shyly and took the proffered hand. "Sam," he muttered.

The next new Slytherins were Adam and Eve Goldbergh. Both were rather tall for their age and had long, red hair. Adam wore his in a ponytail, Eve´s slid down her back and shoulders in a long crimson curtain. Al tried to read from Jonah´s reaction whether the Goldberghs were a family traditionally belonging to Slytherin, but the older boy´s face didn´t give away anything.

Slytherin also got Gertrud Goyle, Jim Montague and Myope Parkinson, who going by Jonah´s reaction came from old Slytherin families. "Hi, Myope," Scorpius greeted the girl cheerfully, when she came to the table.

"Cousin Scorpius, what a pleasure," Myope said formally. She smiled, but the smile never reached her light blue eyes.

"Myope is the eldest daughter to my mother´s younger brother," Scorpius explained to Al. "We meet quite often as Dad has no siblings and Mum only one brother. So there´s not as much family to meet as with your clan."

Al laughed. "There´s hardly as much family as the Weasleys anywhere."

"Weasley?" Myope sneered. "You´re related to the Weasleys?" She looked as if she had just discovered that she had stepped into dog dirt.

"I am," Al said cooly and turned a little in his seat to look away from the girl. He pointedly started a conversation with Ares Watson who sat on his other side.

After the sorting, Headmistress McGonagall rose to her feet for her start of the year speech, which was basically the same as last year. The only interesting part came at the end of it.

"As I don´t get any younger," the witch said and waited for the calls of protest to die down, "I decided to give up my double duties as headmistress and transfiguration teacher. The decision was an easy one as I had the rare opportunity to hire an excellent transfiguration teacher to relieve me of that position. May I ask you for a warm welcome for Professor Karpov!"

There was a round of polite applause as the new teacher, a tall wizard with auburn hair and a big moustache, got up and bowed to the hall at large before he sat back down.

"As a second change, I may inform you," the headmistress continued, "that from this moment on, Professor Longbottom will be head of Gryffindor house."

Uncle Neville´s applause was louder and longer than Professor Karpov´s. Especially the Gryffindors cheered and Al could understand them too well. Professor Longbottom was known to be a kind and just teacher.

Then, at last, the food appeared and everybody tucked into the delicacies the elves had prepared.

"Oy, Potter," Ariadne Hopkirk, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, called after Al on their way down to the dungeons. She caught up with the group of second year boys, elbowing her way through the crowd of Slytherins. "Are you planning to try out for the team? We need new chasers."

"Uhm," said Al, "I´m not sure I´m good enough."

"Come on, your Mum was a pro! You must have learned something!"

"I guess, trying out can´t hurt," Al mused.

"That´s the spirit!" Ariadne slapped his shoulder.

"Can Scorpius try out, too? We played during summer and he´s a better flyer than me," Al asked shyly.

"I´m not!" protested the small blond.

"Everybody can try out," said Ariadne, "the more the merrier. I like to have a choice of players."

"Wow," cried Enrico, "I don´t think it´s common to invite people to the try-outs personally."

Al blushed. He started to understand why Dad liked his quiet life.

"Potter?" came a irritated voice from behind. "You are a Potter?" Myope stared at Al. "Why didn´t you tell?"

"Because," Al said coolly, "I prefer friends, who don´t care about my name."

-x-

The first week was less exciting than last year´s. They knew their teachers and their classrooms. The Slytherin second years helped along the first years occasionally as they remembered only too well, how difficult it was to fit in at a new school where you had to learn everything, from school stuff to simple things like where the nearest toilet was.

The only news for Al and his friends was Professor Karpov. They didn´t have him until their third school day, so they had heard some rumours about the professor´s abilities and style of teaching.

When the boys arrived at the transfiguration classroom – it was a class they had with Hufflepuff – the door was open and the professor was waiting for them, sitting at his desk.

"Welcome to your first transfiguration lesson of the new school year," the professor greeted them in a heavy Eastern accent, similar to the one the Romanians Al had met at the dragon resort had had, but not quite the same. "I am Professor Ewgeny Karpov, your new teacher. I will read out your names and you will answer ´Here, Sir´."

The procedure didn´t take long as the professor reacted to no name at all. It seemed he had never heard of any of them, which meant something. Apart from Albus Potter, there were Aphrodite Adams, daughter of a famous singer, and Algy Birch-Twig, heir of a reknown dynasty of broomstick manufacturers, in the room, not to speak of old wizarding names like Malfoy, Diggory and Smith.

"Well," the professor put the roll of parchment aside. "Let´s see what you learned last year and how much you forgot over the summer." He waved his wand at a box on the window sill, and little pebbles soared through the air. Each of the boys and girls got five of the little stones. "I want a coat button, a rubber duck, a pencil, a tea cup and a card saying your name. You have twenty minutes."

The students gasped. Al was confident he could do the button, the rubber duck and the pencil in fifteen minutes and perhaps the tea cup in the remaining five, if he was lucky, but a card saying his name? He had never tried that. It seemed too advanced for their class. He looked at Scorpius and found it somehow relieving that his friend didn´t look more confident than he felt.

With a sigh Al started his assignment. The button was easy. He was a bit out of practice, but he managed on his second attempt. Al tried the pencil next. The pebble he was pointing his wand at didn´t change at all. When he tried the fifth time to no success at all, Al felt a jolt of panic. Their new teacher was going to think he was a complete idiot. True, the card was probably beyond his abilities, but the rest was first year stuff. Severus was going to be so disappointed in him when he heard!

Strangely enough, thinking of the former headmaster calmed Al down. "Slytherins don´t panic, they plan," he heard his namesake say inside his mind. Al took a deep breath and concentrated. He knew how to make a pencil. He had learned it last year, it had been part of their finals and he had done it right then. Another calm breath, then he pointed his wand at the pebble and spoke his spell for the sixth time. Obediently the pebble lenghtened, turned to wook and got a point at one end.

Al smiled. This was better. Again he breathed and concentrated. It was the first time that he made a rubber duck on a first attempt. The tea cup turned out more difficult and needed more work, but in the end Al managed a nice cup with a light blue floral pattern. He had even time to try the card.

"Time´s up," the professor cried a little later. "Put your wands on your desks."

The class obeyed. Al hadn´t succeeded with the card, but at least there was a card even if it only said "A.S.P.".

Professor Karpov went from desk to desk and examined their work. He was chary of praise, but gave some now and then. "Not bad, Mr. Potter," he said when he turned Al´s card to look at it from all sides. "This kind of transfiguration, with complicated patterns or writing, is only expected from you in third year. I take it transfiguration is your best subject?"

"No, Sir," Al said awkwardly, "actually my best subject is potions, I guess I was only lucky."

The professor looked at the boy sternly. "Well, at least you seem to be honest." He went on to see how Scorpius had done.

At the end of the lesson the teacher divided the class into three groups, which he informed them he wanted to teach seperately. "You aren´t all on equal level in your studies of transfiguration. Each group will get appropriate assignments for their level of knowledge."

Al didn´t mind much as he and Scorpius were part of a small group – "the gifted" as the professor called them. Apart from them, there were a Slytherin girl and two Hufflepuffs in the group.

Enrico was part of the large middle group – "the average" – and looked indifferent.

Vern and a Hufflepuff girl were the last group, "the inept". The girl cried and Vern looked like he was going to join her any moment. Al thought it was really mean of the professor to expose Vern and the unlucky Hufflepuff in such a manner. The group idea hadn´t sounded so bad in the beginning, but now that the three groups had been named, he found it was humiliating.

Professor Karpov, however, didn´t give them time to muse. "As a homework," he cried, "the gifted will work on their cups. I want decent handles and some kind of pattern. And on first attempt! The average will please perfect their rubber ducks and work on the cup assignment. I don´t expect you to magic a cup on first attempt, but try to make it in under five. The rest," he glared at Vern and the Hufflepuff, who howled like a wounded animal at the look, "will try to get a button on first attempt."

-x-

"A button on first attempt!" Vern raged as they went downstairs for dinner. "What did I work for last year when my new teacher thinks I´m not worth being tought at all! I could do a button on first attempt last Christmas!"

"You got the pencil right," Enrico pointed out supportively. "He´s so mean!"

Scorpius and Al nodded in agreement and Vern looked a bit reassured. "I even managed a rubber animal. It looked rather like a penguin than a duck, but it was quite close. It´s not that I´m totally hopeless at transfiguration. I´m just a bit slow! Since when are lessons a speed contest?"

"I guess you´re talking about Karpov?" said Jonah gloomily as they sat down at the Slytherin table beside him.

"How do you know?" Al asked curiously.

The sixth year sighed. "We had him this morning. You may be surprised to learn that I´ve been holding my wand wrong for five years."

"Uhm," Vern looked puzzled, "wouldn´t Professor McGonagall have spotted the problem?"

The group glared at him and Vern blushed crimson. "Sorry," he piped. "I was officially declared stupid, so what do you expect?"

They laughed, but it wasn´t lighthearted laughter as it should be on a third school day. Al looked the table up and down and soon found out that many of his housemates looked equally gloomy as Jonah. "I may be wrong, but is Karpov after our house? The other house tables seem to be more cheerful."

Jonah looked around with new fighting spirit. "I´ll make a list," he stated and transfigured a fish-bone into a piece of parchment and a spoon into a quill with a lazy wave of his wand. "We need a house meeting. Nine o´clock in the Common Room."

The Slytherin Common Room was crowded with people by eight thirty. There were low conversations all around the room which all revolved round one topic: Professor Karpov.

"He´s so mean!" hissed Eve Goldbergh. "He said it must be a mistake that Adam and I were accepted into the school!" – "He said we´re muggles!" Adam added, equally angry.

"But all muggle-borns have difficulties with transfiguration in the beginning," said Millicent, who had grown at least ten centimeters over the summer. Several people around her nodded, Vern among them.

At nine o´clock Jonah cleared his throat and the crowd fell silent.

"Okay," said the prefect, "I asked all years. The fourth years won´t have transfiguration before tomorrow morning, but from the other six years I have the following numbers. Karpov has put a total of five Hufflepuffs into ´inept´ groups. Seven Gryffindors. One Ravenclaw and – drum roll – twentyone Slytherins."

The students gasped.

"We have a problem," Jonah added in a calm voice.

"What can we do?" asked one of Millicent´s friends.

"Study harder," said Jonah. "He can´t get at us if we know our stuff. Those of you who´ve been sorted into the idiot groups will do the assignments for the ´average´ group. I ask those who are good at transfiguration to help their classmates. Of course, older students will help younger, but please don´t forget that the problem concerns all years up to seventh. Try to solve problems within your year if you can."

The Slytherins exchanged determined nods before they started their evening activities, mostly homework.

-x-

Al and Scorpius spent an hour with their own homework before they sat with Enrico and Vern. Enrico was doing quite well, but Vern had worse problems with transfiguration than ever

"It´s Karpov!" he complained. "Every time I think about the man I remember that he considers me inept and my spells go wrong."

"Karpov is an idiot," said Scorpius. "He hasn´t known you for but one lesson. We watched you transfigure things for a whole year and we know you can do this homework. You are a little out of practice, but you´ll catch up easily. Come on try again." Al smiled at his cousin encouragingly.

Vern waved his wand at the pebble he was working with and said his spell. The pebble grew and transformed obediently.

Scorpius smirked at the other boy in an I-told-you-so fashion. Vern beamed back enthusiastically.

In a quiet corner of the Common Room the Goldberghs were having trouble with their assignments. They had tooth picks in front of them and Al guessed that professor Karpov had sticked to the headmistress´ first transfiguration assignment. Adam shook his head from time to time and Eve looked close to tears. The tooth picks didn´t change at all no matter how the two muggle-borns waved and brandished their wands.

"Come on," Al said to Scorpius, "getting started is always the most difficult thing. Let´s help them." The blond agreed with a court nod and they went over to the redhaired twins.

"Look," Al said kindly to Eve and stopped her from continuing her wand movement. He held out his wand and paused to give the twins time to look how he was holding it. Then he showed the wand movement in slow motion. "Did you see the tiny twitch at the end?" he asked.

"Can you show it again?" asked Adam.

Al did twice until both redheads nodded. He repeated the wandmovement, this time in original velocity, and said the incantation. The toothpicks turned silver and got a point at one side.

"Wow!" beamed Eve.

"That´s nothing," Al had the feeling he blushed. "You´ll be able to do it as well in the blink of an eye."

"Transfiguration isn´t even his best," smirked Scorpius.

Al smacked his friend´s arm and turned the needles back into toothpicks. "Who wants to try first?" Adam volunteered and this time his toothpick turned grey. "That´s a good start," praised Al. "All you have to do now is practice. You´ll see, once you managed to change the target, you´ll soon find out how to change it at will."

Eve took a little longer, but that was mainly – as Scorpius pointed out later – because she rather looked at Al than the tooth pick.


	20. Under attack

The next day brought nothing new but the return of the Slytherin fourth years to the Common Room in a subdued manner. They´d had their first transfiguration lesson and like with the other years an astonishing big number of them had ended up in the inept group. As the course of action had already been discussed, they didn´t bother to rage but sat in a quiet corner and started to practice their assignments.

Al spent most of his leisure time practicing charms and writing a potions essay – Professor Slope had been in a bad mood and given them three feet on ´What they had forgotten over the holidays´ – and in the evening helping the Goldberghs.

"Do you always finish your homeworks by Friday evening? Is it expected?" Adam asked curiously while he was taking a short break from his attempts at the toothpicks they were still working with.

"Not at all," said Al. "You can do your homework whenever you like as long as you finish it on time. There´s nothing wrong with working on Sundays."

"So, you´re free on the weekend? Perhaps you could help us a little with..." Eve pointed at the toothpick she had abandoned to join the conversation.

"In fact," said Scorpius with a I-told-you-so glare at Al, " we did our homework early because we have already plans for the weekend."

"Oh!" Eve looked hurt.

"Yes," said Al soothingly. "We´re meeting my brother, who´s in Gryffindor, and his friends."

Eve smiled weakly, but Scorpius wasn´t letting her get off so easily. "His friends Rose and Circe." He informed her blatantly. "And James will not be there for long, we hope."

Eve´s glare at the small blond told clearly that she and Scorpius were never going to be friends not matter how much he helped her with her homework. The blond continued, unmoved, and turned at Al. "We´d better go, they don´t need us watching how they practice and there´s something I wanted to ask you all day."

Al was taken aback. Scorpius had wanted to ask him something? They had spent all day together! They had even been alone in their dorm when they fetched their books for the afternoon lessons! Why hadn´t he asked then?

"Come on, we´re going," Scorpius took Al by the elbow and the latter allowed himself to be led to their dormitory.

"What are you playing at?" hissed Scorpius as soon as the dormitory door had closed on them. "Why are you encouraging her?"

"I do what?" Al tried to remember when he had lost track of the conversation.

"Oh, come on! She has a crush on you and everytime I try to bring home to her that you aren´t interested, you encourage her! – You aren´t interested, are you?"

"She doesn´t have a crush on me and no, I´m not interested. Circe..."

"I thought so. But you have to face the truth. Eve has a crush on you."

"No!" Al shook his head vigorously.

"You´re in denial. What do you think that meant?" Scorpius stepped closer and batted his lashes at Al like mad. "Are you free for the weekend?" he asked in a high voice.

"Urgh! I don´t want to know! Just let me get my potions text and I´ll be gone. I didn´t see anything, I didn´t hear anything!" Enrico made a face and hurried past them to rummage in his trunk.

"Idiot," scolded Scorpius. "I was telling him about Eve. He doesn´t see her having a crush on him."

"Ah," Enrico stood beside Al with his textbook in hand. "Sorry, I couldn´t hear what she was saying in the Common Room, that´s why I didn´t get it. You did a good job on the lash-batting, Scorp." He batted his own lashes at Al and Al felt his face grow warm with a blush.

"Do you really think so?" he piped.

Scorpius and Enrico roared with laughter. Al was just going to smack them for teasing him, when they heard shouts and shrieks from the Common Room and the sound of spells hitting the wall.

-x-

Al turned on his heel to rush downstairs, but Scorpius held him back. "Can´t deny your Gryffindor blood," the blond smirked. "Come, let´s find out what´s the matter without rushing into the heart of a fight." The three boys – Enrico made up the rear – tiptoed towards the Common Room and peeked around the last corner to see what the havoc was about.

The room was a mess. Pieces of parchment were flying in the air, there were splutters of ink on the walls, furniture and students. Speaking of students, the assembled Slytherins were trying to hide behind sofas and armchairs. Adam and Eve were ducked under a coffee table trying to protect their heads with their arms. Toothpicks rose from the skin of their hands like quills. Older students were trying to hit the culprit with spells, but the poltergeist was too fast for them and the spells hit the walls and ceiling adding to the devastation of the Slytherin Common Room.

"It´s Peeves," Al whispered back to Enrico.

"That´s impossible," replied the other boy. "The houses are warded against him, he can´t enter."

"He did, obviously," whispered Scorpius.

"Aaaaaah, ickly Slytherins are hiding from Peevsy!" The poltergeist dove at the three second years and threw something.

Al and Scorpius ducked, but Enrico – having a worse view from behind them – didn´t and was hit in the face by what must have been an inkwell. His face was dripping with dark blue liquid and he howled in pain.

"Don´t move," said Scorpius urgently and cast a cleaning spell on his classmate. "Did you get anything into your eyes?"

Enrico nodded. His eyes were closed tightly and the tears welling from behind the closed lids were bluish.

"That´s bad," whispered Scorpius. "I want you to sit here and leave your eyes closed. Al and I will get help." Enrico nodded he understood. "I´ll try to alert Madam Slope and you watch out for Peeves," Scorpius ordered.

Al sat beside Enrico and pointed his wand at the items Peeves threw at them, diverting them enough to smash into the wall instead of them.

The poltergeist was chased through the room by the older students, but he didn´t flee. Instead he picked things up again and again to throw them at younger students. He gave up on Al after several attacks when he realized that the boy was able to shield himself and his friend against the missiles despite his lack of size. Instead he attacked the first years, who hadn´t learned enough magic yet to counter the spirit´s attacks.

"Protect the lower years," cried Jonah and the Slytherins obeyed. Watching out for their own was natural to them and as soon as somebody tried to organize their attempts they followed.

"Hippolyte, Bernard to the coffee table! Elora, take care of Myope! . . ." Jonah directed the sixth and seventh years to the first and second years. The lower years taken care of he turned back to Al. "What´s wrong with Enrico?"

"He got ink into his eyes. Scorpius went to fetch help."

"Which turns out to be a problem," the small blond was hurrying towards Jonah and Al, dodging Peeves´ projectiles. "There´s some kind of field in front of the wall. I can´t get out."

"We tried to get help earlier," cried Jonah over the racket the poltergeist was making and the angry shouts of their housemates. "But we couldn´t get out either. It seems we´re trapped."

"Can we send a message?" asked Scorpius.

"We tried the floo, but it doesn´t work."

"Our fireplace is connected to the floo network?" Al and Scorpius asked in unison.

"Only the prefects can use it. It´s for emergencies. But as I said, it doesn´t work."

"Did you try an owl?"

Jonah motioned at the room at large. "The few owls we had here took flight when the havoc started."

Al looked around the room, desperate to think about something to help. It struck him like lightning. "I can call help."

Jonah looked at him curiously.

"It´s a secret." Al said shyly.

"Go back to your room, if you must. Only get us some help!"

Al nodded and retreated to their dormitory. He reached for the locket he was wearing and held it tight in his left hand. "Vocate!" he stated clearly.

An instant later the locket grew warm in his hand and he opened it.

"An emergency the first week? And I thought your father was a trouble magnet," Severus drawled. He clearly didn´t believe that this was an actual call for help.

"Severus," Al said urgently. "Peeves is in the Slytherin Common Room. He´s attacking the students and we can´t get out or call help. Enrico has ink in his eyes and several of the students are injured, though nobody severly as far as I can tell. I need you to alert the headmistress and send us help."

Severus disappeared from the tiny portrait immediately. Al closed the locket and tucked it back under his shirt. Then he returned to his friends.

-x-

"Did you succeed?" Jonah deflected a vase that was coming dangerously close to the spot where he and Scorpius were trying to protect Enrico.

"I reached my contact," said Al as he drew his wand to help. "He´s on his way."

"Can he get past that shield which keeps us inside?" Jonah sounded a bit anxious though he was trying to hide his worry from his younger housemates.

"Definitely," Al reassured him and Scorpius nodded.

They had to wait for nearly an hour for the rescue to come. Professors Slope and Flitwick entered the Common Room brandishing their wands like swords. Behind them came the headmistress, who radiated fury.

"Peeves!" she barked, "out! Out, you evil spirit!"

The poltergeist blew a raspberry, but as the infuriated witch advanced on him with her wand in hand, he disappeared through the wall in a swirl of flying parchment.

"Where is Mr. Zabini?" the headmistress asked urgently.

Jonah cried "Over here!" and the woman hurried to them. Madam Slope entered the Common Room as soon as her husband signalled her that it was safe and hurried to the headmistress´ side.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He was hit by an inkwell," explained Scorpius. "He got ink in his eyes. We let him leave his eyes closed and encouraged him to cry. We thought the tears might wash the ink out of his eyes."

"It was the best you could do in this havoc," huffed the matron and waved her wand over Enrico´s face. "Ah, that´s not as bad as it could be. Leave your eyes closed, Mr. Zabini. Light would only hurt at the moment. We´re going to move you to the hospital wing where I will administer a healing potion. The odds are excellent that no permanent damage was done."

Professor Flitwick conjured a stretcher for Enrico. Vern, who had hidden behind an armchair and sported several cuts where shards of glass had hit him, insisted on going to the hospital wing with his friend.

Professor Slope was shaking with cold fury. He searched the room for more injured students and ordered Jonah and other prefects to shepherd them to the hospital wing as well. "I want to know where every single Slytherin is and whether they´re hurt. We don´t want to overlook anything!"

The prefects acknowledged the order with determined expressions. The proud house of Slytherin had been attacked and they weren´t going to let it happen without giving the attacker a hard time. But who was it? Peeves couldn´t enter the house without help from a witch or wizard.

"I shall find out who´s responsible," the headmistress pursed her lips. "And Merlin have mercy with them for I won´t! Whoever did this will have to face expulsion!"

"Do you really think it was a student, Minerva?" Professor Flitwick looked doubtful. "It took us more than half an hour to take down that shield blocking the entrance. I doubt a student could have done it."

"Be it who it may," said Professor Slope and pointed his colleagues towards the door, "it shouldn´t be discussed in this place."

Al and Scorpius exchanged excited glances as the three teachers left the Common Room. They didn´t have time to discuss the situation though. One prefect – a seventh year called Marcia – had stayed behind and organized the uninjured Slytherins to clean their Common Room.

Al and Scorpius spent all evening trying to safe as many pieces of homework as possible. They and several other lower years sorted through a heap of parchments again and again and in the end more than half of the parchments – those which weren´t torn too badly – were restored to their owners.

When they finally returned to their dorm, both boys were too tired to talk. Vern and Enrico weren´t back from the hospital wing yet and the two friends were worried, especially about the blond.

-x-

Al and Scorpius went to the hospital wing first thing the next was up and having breakfast at Enrico´s nighttable. If it hadn´t been for the sight of him, Al´d have been upset about the big blond. Enrico wore a bandage like a blindfold. In front of him sat a tray with a bowl of porridge and the boy tried to eat blindly. Most of his breakfast landed on his nightshirt and only small portions found their way into his mouth, but Enrico didn´t seem to be worried. He and Vern were joking and laughing and just when the two smaller Slytherin second years entered the infirmary, Vern fed Enrico a spoonful of porridge while both giggled.

"Here, big baby," Vern cried happily and held another spoonful in front of Enrico´s mouth. "I took it from your chest. There´s more than in the bowl." He touched his friend´s lips gently and the blond leaned forward to get the food.

"It seems you´re having an amusing stay," Al pointed out as he sat on the edge of Enrico´s bed. Scorpius settled down beside him. "How are you, pal?" the blond asked with a trace of concern in his voice.

"Marvellous," grinned Enrico. "Madam Slope will take off the bandage after lunch. There won´t be any permanent damage. But," he whispered conspiratorily, "I won´t be able to write for two weeks. No written homework for me."

"How will you take notes?" asked Scorpius.

"Vern will lend me his."

"Do you think the teachers will insist you do the homework when your eyes are better?"

Enrico paled visibly on Al´s question. "They wouldn´t do that!" he cried. "It would mean double homework for a while!"

"Of course you will do your homework, ," Professor Slope entered the infirmary at a hurry. "I´ve come to see you before lessons as I won´t have time later. Here." He gave the blindfolded boy a small box. "This is a quick quotes quill. They´re normally forbidden at Hogwarts, but the headmistress agreed to let you use one until your eyesight is fully restored."

"A quick quotes quill? Wow!" Enrico beamed. Then he seemed to remember that he was talking to his head of house. "Thank you, Sir," he added hastily.

"Mr. Parker, as far as I know you have been released from the infirmary yesterday evening. What are you still doing here?"

"I couldn´t leave my friend when he couldn´t see and Madam Slope wasn´t able to stay by his bedside all the time," said Vern. "So I stayed in case he needed anything."

The professor smiled, but only for an instant. "That was good of you. One point to Slytherin for house loyalty! Good day to all of you." He turned on the spot and left the infirmary.

"It seems they´re still busy looking for the culprit," sighed Scorpius. "We heard the professor say that they don´t think a student could have done it."

"But who else?" asked Vern, speaking what Al was thinking. "You don´t think a teacher?"

"I don´t think a teacher would do that," said Al. "Why would they? The whole incident caused the teachers a lot of trouble. – We heard at breakfast that the other heads of houses have to test their houses´ wards."

"So who else? Not the caretaker," said Vern.

The other boys shook their heads in agreement.

"Maybe a house elf?" suggested Al. "They´re pretty powerful."

"Maybe a seventh year," said Enrico. "They´re nearly fully trained. So why not."

"But who of the seventh years?" Scorpius asked doubtfully. "Slytherins wouldn´t attack their own house and the other houses can´t get in."

"Don´t forget," said Al, "that ours got into Gryffindor last year to prepare that pillow fight. Do you think they´re retaliating?"

Scorpius shook his head. "Gryffindors aren´t that well organized. They´d attack more blatantly."

The boys spent all morning in the infirmary and Al and Scorpius left only on time to go for lunch. After the meal they went to the lawn by the lake to meet James and his friends, among them Rose and Circe.

The Gryffindors brought a soccer ball and they played a match. James teamed up with his friends and Al and Scorpius were left to play with the girls. On first sight the arrangement was terribly unfair, but on second thought Al liked it a lot. Nobody expected them to win, they could exchange encouraging pats with the girls and when they scored, there were team hugs.

The hugs proved very motivating and in the end the Slytherin/girls team lost only narrowly and all four of them were well-hugged and grinning like idiots. During the game a small crowd of spectators gathered by the side of their field and watched. Prominent among them were Vern and Enrico and a group of Slytherin first years who cheered for Al and Scorpius and Eve, who scowled unnoticedly every time Al was hugged by Circe.


	21. A remarkable weekend

The next few weeks passed in a routine. Lessons went well for Al, but Transfigurations was very challenging. Professor Karpov put his students through their paces every single lessons and never got tired of insulting the slow or less competent. Each class had its "inept" group with their Slytherin student – or preferably several – in it. The Slytherins studied hard and some of them were able to convince the professor they were rather mediocre (which wasn´t really praise for any proud Slytherin) than inept, but those few were exceptions. Vern was not part of those lucky few and had he not loved Transfigurations in his first year, he hated it in his second. His friends had to convince him to do the homework and hadn´t it been for his fear of losing house points for Slytherin, he´d have refused.

Weekends were spent with James and his friends or with his dorm mates. Whatever it was, Scorpius was by Al´s side. They played soccer or went for walks with the girls, they played games with Vern and Enrico and discussed the impending Quidditch tryouts.

"I´m sure you´ll both make it on the team," said Vern. "You´re both amazing flyers."

"Both of you have the build for a seeker," Enrico pointed out. "But you could be decent chasers, also."

Tryouts began on the first weekend in October. Ariadne booked the pitch for Slytherin on Saturday morning. Al was glad about that as it meant it wouldn´t interfere with meeting James and the girls. He and Scorpius spent all Friday evening with their homework to get it done before the weekend.

They took their broomsticks to the Great Hall for breakfast to save time and go from there to the pitch. Al thought he couldn´t stomach anything and Vern and Enrico had to pester him to even nibble on a bit of toast. Scorpius wasn´t very helpful as he was rather pale himself. Circe, Rose and James waved from the Gryffindor table and Circe, blushing crimson, even blew Al a kiss.

The boy felt his face grow warm with embarrassment, but he smiled at the girl shyly and pretended to catch the kiss and put it into his pocket safely.

When they finally got up to go down to the pitch, Eve rose from her seat a little down the table and hurried to Al´s side. "Good luck!" she breathed and before the boy could react, she pecked him on the cheek.

"Are you crazy, woman?" Enrico asked rudely. "Don´t jump him like that!"

Al made a face and wiped his cheek. "Tell me that Circe didn´t see that!" he whined. He glanced at the Gryffindor table. Circe was talking with Rose. Maybe she hadn´t seen it at all. The scowl both girls were wearing told a different story though.

The two second years were the youngest to try out for the team. There were mostly NEWT students on the team and fourth and fifth years were trying out for the free positions as chasers.

Ariadne had them fly a few rounds for warmup and explained how she had planned the tryouts when her housemates landed beside her.

"We have only three people who will be on the team for sure. Myself, Algie and Aurora. Then we have two, who have been reserve for the last two years. I know they´re good and they will be on the team unless some of our candidates turn out surprisingly gifted. Victor and Cyrus. We will play games five on five. No keepers, no seekers. Only chasers and beaters. I want to see your abilities for those positions first."

The candidates nodded. Al and Scorpius were teamed up with three fifth years, Marcus, Hecate and Magnolia. First the older students smirked at the two second years, but then Al and Scorpius started to work together and soon Al shot his first goal. Ariadne and her team attacked viciously to get the quaffle, but the two smaller boys were nimble and outflew them again and again.

"I think we have found our new team," Ariadne said two hours later. She and her team had played a total of four matches. Three to try out all candidates and one to compare those who were on her short-list. "Al and Scorpius, welcome to the team. You will play chasers. It´s a big advantage that you seem to have played together before. We´ll need some training sessions to practice your work with Aurora, but I´m confident you will do well. I will play keeper, Algie, you´re our seeker. Cyrus stays as beater. Victor, I´m really sorry, but you will stay reserve. Hecate is just great with a bat. I´ve never seen someone aim a bludger that well."

"No problem, Adne, I can do with some more time to study," Victor said happily. "I might end up on Karpov´s idiot list if I don´t improve soon."

"Really?" Ariadne looked shocked. "Why didn´t you tell? I can help you with your homework! – Well, that´s it for today. Thank you all for trying out. Team, you will be notified of the training schedule."

"I can´t believe it! We made it both!" Scorpius cried happily as they left the stadium to return to the castle. "I can´t wait to tell Rose!"

Al felt a pang of guilt. He had forgotten about Circe during the tryouts. What could he do to convince her that Eve had kissed him and not the other way round? He needed a plan and he needed it fast. They had plans to meet the Gryffindors in the afternoon after all.

The boy didn´t get as long to plan as he thought. Circe was waiting for him in the Entrance Hall.

"You toad!" she cried as soon as she saw Al and Scorpius enter the castle. "You sneaky cheating little cockroach!"

"Circe..." Al tried to make himself heard, but the small blonde seemed to have worked herself into a rage while he had been trying out.

"And to think that I blew you a kiss only moments before!" Circe fumed on.

Scorpius shot Al a pitying look before he disappeared down to the dungeons. Al was dumbfounded. How could he soothe the furious girl? At last he decided to act as Circe seemed unwilling to listen. He inched closer to the girl, grabbed her waist and kissed her on her lips.

Circe pushed him away angrily. "What do you think you´re doing?" She glared at him, but at least she was quiet and waited for Al to answer.

"I gave the kiss back as you seem to think that I don´t deserve it." Al said nervously. "But I swear that I never kissed Eve! I´m not interested in her at all."

There was a loud wail near the corridor that lead down to the dungeons, but Al knew better than to take his eyes off Circe. The girl scrutinized him for some moments, but when he didn´t react to the wail at all, she smiled at him. "I think you may keep the kiss," she chirped and gave it back. "I´ll see you after lunch!" She turned on the spot and gone she was, up the marble staircase at whose top Rose was waiting for her.

Al looked after her until she and Rose had turned around the corner. Then he went down to Slytherin house. He´d have to talk to Scorpius about leaving a friend in need.

-x-

"You did what?" Scorpius stared at Al in awe.

"Kissed her."

"She let you?" The blond was beside himself.

Al smiled shyly. "I said I was giving her kiss back."

"Oh wow! You truely ARE a Slytherin! That was genius, to steal a kiss when she was raging at you. What happened then? Come on, don´t let me ask for every single detail."

Al felt himself blush. "Eve wailed. I think the boys were right, she has a crush on me. I ignored her and it turned out to be the right thing to do. Circe told me to keep the kiss and gave it back."

"That makes a total of three on one day!"

"She only blew me the first one."

"Ah, ever our modest Al!" Scorpius laughed.

"What did he do?" Vern asked curiously. He and Enrico had just joined the two smaller boys in their dormitory.

"Nothing," said Al and blushed even more.

"Kissed Circe, twice." Stagewhispered Scorpius.

"Wow!" cried Vern and Enrico in unison. "I wish I had a girl to kiss," sighed Enrico. "Did I ever tell you about that girl – Angelica – in Italy last summer?"

"Did you kiss her?" asked Scorpius.

"No, but nearly. She was..."

"Oh really," Vern interrupted his best friend. "Don´t tell us what you nearly did when we can discuss what Al actually did."

Al felt his face grow hot. He must have the colour of a tomatoe by then. Scorpius saved him. "A gentleman won´t kiss and tell. At least nobody but his very best friend."

"Hey! I´m his cousin!" Vern protested. "If he should tell somebody about kissing Circe, it´s me!"

Al did a belly flop on his bed and hid his head under his pillow. Luckily it was nearly lunch time and they had to go to the Great Hall. At least his dorm mates had the decency not to tease him in public.

After the meal the four Slytherin second years met James and his friends outside. It was a sunny autumn day and they enjoyed a game of soccer. Rose and Circe played on James´ team.

"Are you sure your brother isn´t a Slytherin in disguise?" Enrico panted after a while.

"What?"

"I mean, letting the girls play was genius! Neither you nor Scorpius will attack them properly for fear to offend them."

"That´s not true!" Al cried.

"Is it not? So why did Scorpius just let Rose through with the ball? Merlin, he didn´t even move in her direction."

Slytherin lost spectacularly that day. Half an hour later, Slytherin had entirely different problems...

-x-

The Slytherin second years decided on their way to the dungeons that a shower before dinner was in order after their game. (Actually Enrico cried "It´s a miracle how two guys who barely moved for three hours to grant their ladies a victory can stink so badly!")

Al disposed of his worn clothes in the huge laundry basket beside the door and stepped into a shower stall. He knew fresh clothes would await him when he had finished his bath. He was just going to step out from under the hot spray when he heard an almost girlish shriek. For a short moment he feared Eve might have followed him into the showers, but then he remembered some older students talking about the special wards around the bathrooms and dormitories.

"I´m going to kill those house elves!" It was Scorpius who raged in the dressing area.

Al wrapped a towel around his frame and went to see what the commotion was about. Scorpius stood holding an ugly blanket and looking scandalized. "Look at this!" he waved the blanket in front of Al´s face. It was a dull pinkish grey and had – hang on! – sleeves.

"Is this your robe?" Al asked in disbelief.

"It is!" raged Scorpius. "Dad will kill me if I write to him I need new school robes!"

"Uhm," Al searched for words. "I was under the impression that your family was rather, well, rich?"

"Ah," drawled Scorpius, "it´s not the money. He says I have to learn looking after what is mine."

Al slapped the small blond´s shoulder soothingly and went over to his clothes shelf. "Better you than me," he was just saying when he saw it. His own robes were the same grey colour instead of black as his friend´s. "I guess I can copy your letter," he pointed out. "If we write now, we may have our new robes by breakfast. We can ask our parents to place express orders."

Scorpius nodded and put on the pinkish robes reluctantly.

"You can talk," came a sad voice from a corner of the room. It was Vern who sat there with an equally ruined set of robes. His cheeks were wet with tears. "My family can´t..." He sobbed.

"They can´t what?" asked Scorpius.

Vern blushed. "Afford new robes!" He fled the bathroom with only a towel on and his robes clutched to his chest.

"Oh my," said Scorpius.

"Let´s go after him," said Al.

"Will you ask your Dad to help him or shall I?" asked the small blond on their way to their dormitory.

"I´ll do it," said Al, "Vern´s my cousin. He´ll accept my help more easily."

When they reached the dormitory, Al sat beside Vern, who was lying on his belly in his bed, his face burried in his pillow. "Come on, Vern," he said softly. "I´ll ask Dad to send you robes, too."

Vern shook his head. "No!"

"Why not?"

"I won´t ask for alms. I´m perfectly content with what my family provides."

"Don´t be stupid," said Al. "This is not a question of what your family provides. They didn´t buy pink robes. If Dad buys you new robes, too, you can consider them a present from your uncle. There´s nothing wrong with getting presents from uncles. And now let´s put on some of our spare robes and go for dinner. I´m hungry."

"Your spare robes are as pink as the others." Scorpius pointed at Al´s open trunk and at his own. He opened Vern and Enrico´s, too. "Look. Everything´s the same colour."

"Oh no!" Al rushed to his trunk and rummaged in his possessions. Everything was in order but the colour of robes.

"It´s not only our dorm," said Enrico, who came in at that moment. "I went to notify a prefect when I saw what was in my trunk. Every single robe in Slytherin house looks the same."

The boys put on their pinkish robes and rushed to the Common Room. Most people wore pinkish grey robes. Only those few, who had come back from their afternoon activities late still had black robes.

"It looks like this is going to be a rather troublesome school year," sighed Al. He sat down in an armchair beside Scorpius. Small as they were they still fit in both.

"Somebody seems to have it in for Slytherin," agreed Scorpius.

"Definitely," said Vern and pointed at the entrance.

Professor Slope´s robes weren´t black either.

-x-

"It seems," said Professor Slope and Al didn´t remember ever having heard him sound so calm and dangerous at the same time, "that Slytherin house is the target of a well organized attack. I admit to have suspected some of you to have played practical joke on me," he rose his arms and hinted a turn to show his robes, "I apologize for that."

The Slytherins listened in stunned silence.

"We have to find out who is behind the attacks. Yes, attacks. In the light of recent events we can safely assume that the intrusion of Peeves into Slytherin house wasn´t as harmless as we were willing to believe. I ask each and every one of you to notify me of any observation you made, no matter how tiny the piece of information you can provide may be. Don´t forget that many pieces can be used to construct one big picture."

A fifth year girl rose her hand. "Please, professor," she cried. "I took a shower an hour ago. I got black robes back."

"Thank you, Lucretia," the head of house acknowledged the information. "So we have a time where everything was still in order."

"When I came back from the greenhouses" – some students giggled at Susan Bullstrode admitting to have been near the greenhouses, a reknown snogging place – "I saw Lucretia walk down to the dungeons. I can´t have taken my shower more than ten minutes after her. My robes are . . . well you see."

Professor Slope noted the times the two girls reported down on a small roll of parchment. "Very good. I shall interview the house elves on what went on in the laundry at the time in question."

"Do you really think that the elves are responsible, Sir?" asked Scorpius.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," confirmed the professor. "I tried magicking my robes back to black, but couldn´t. House elf magic has been used. What I can´t tell is whether the elf or elves did it of their own volition."

"Hang on!" cried Jonah. "Do you think that someone imperiussed an elf? Is it even possible?"

"It is," said professor Slope, "but it takes a powerful witch or wizard to do it. House elves are bound to follow their masters´ orders by extremely powerful magic. To get past these spells isn´t something every wizard can do."

"Spells?" asked Al. "I wasn´t aware you had to use spells on elves. I thought they were bound by some sort of vow."

"No, Mr. Potter," explained the professor, "elves don´t take vows. They´re enslaved, mind you, not against their will. If they took a vow they´d have the freedom to break it. House elves seek total enslavement. Therefore they ask to be bound by powerful spells by their masters. The spells are applied at a young age. The elf doesn´t have the freedom to end the enslavement. Only the master has."

"By presenting the elf with clothes," whispered Al.

"Exactly. – Prefects, you will organize dinner while I investigate. Slytherin will go to the Great Hall as one. You will stick together and if students try to ridicule you for your robes, you will back each other up. After dinner you will return to the house. No library today. Write to your parents. The robes can´t be magicked back, they need to be replaced." This said the head of Slytherin house sweeped from the room.

"How does he think will my parents pay for new robes?" asked one of the older boys. Several others nodded.

Jonah stepped into the place his father had vacated moments before. "Buying new robes will be a problem for more than one family. Please remember the loyalty our house is famous for. I ask the students from rich families to ask their parents whether they can help."

There was a murmur of consent among the Slytherins.

"All right," said Jonah, "time to face the school. We´ll go as a group. Sixth years to the front, seventh years make up the rear. The rest please don´t stay together in years, but mix. We don´t want anybody to be able to confront a group of first years."

The Slytherins obeyed and soon a caravan of pinkish frames with spots of black in between was on its way to the Great Hall.

-x-

There was a roar of laughter as soon as they first Slytherins sat at the their table. Not much surprisingly it started at the Gryffindor table for the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin had a history of animosity, jealousy and rivalry, but Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw joined in readily as the usually proud snakes entered the hall in a nightmare of pink.

The Slytherins sat with stoical faces. The prefects reached for the food first and the younger students followed their lead. Despite the havoc at the other tables not a single word was spoken at the Slytherin table. It was as if the students feared they´d give in to the temptation to hex their cheering classmates as soon as they opened their mouth for anything other than eating.

When they didn´t rise to the bait, the other houses calmed down a bit, but there was still occasional giggle and laughter in the air.

After all the Slytherins had finished their meal – as quickly as possible – Jonah signalled his housemates and they rose as one and left the hall together.

When they returned to their house, nobody went to their dorms. Instead they stayed at the Common Room, chatting in low voices and waiting for Professor Slope. When it became clear that their Head of House wasn´t going to show up too soon, they went for parchment and quills and wrote their letters home.

Al put a request to help Vern into his letter as did Scorpius. Vern felt rather awkward about it and asked them twice not to, but they wouldn´t have it.

When everybody had finished their letters, one of the prefects conjured a basket and they collected the messages. Those students, who still had black robes, were to take the basket to the owlery and send the letters off. A girl made a list who wished to use their own owl. Al pointed out that he had Mercury and that the bird was going to resent it if he wasn´t to deliver Al´s letter.

Professor Slope came to the Common Room half an hour past curfew. "Well, I guessed right," he said sternly, but not angrily. "I thought you´d be waiting for news no matter how long it would take. At least I know my students." He forced a smile. "The culprit was a house elf named Sappy. It seems she has been imperiused and obliviated. We´re trying to restore her memory of what happened, but there´s little hope. House elves´ minds work different than wizards´. They have to keep their masters´ secrets and therefore they´ve refined the art of forgetting over centuries. We´re not sure the information we seek is even there. Go to bed now."

-x-

"Do you really think we´re going to get new robes on Sunday?" Vern looked doubtful.

"Of course," said Scorpius, "why not?"

"Uhm, because shops are closed then?"

The short blond laughed. "Malfoys don´t care about opening hours. My family may not have as much influence as it once possessed, but we have still enough money to buy us an extra hour. As do the Potters."

"I doubt that Dad would do that," said Al. "He hates publicity and special treatment. I guess he´ll just go to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

Jonah joined the conversation. "The headmistress notified Madam Malkins and the Diagon Alley robe-maker guild of the emergency. Shops are open today." He buttered another scone. "I´m quite confident we´ll get our robes today."

The Slytherins were just going to return to their house – they had walked to breakfast as a group again – when Professor Slope rose at the head table and made an announcement in a magically magnified voice. "All Slytherins will go to the lawn in front of the castle after breakfast. Prefects, lead the house to the rose-beds and make sure the lawn stays free."

The Slytherin students obeyed and soon Al found himself waiting near the roses. The other houses stood near the entrance of the castle and waited as well. What was all this about?

"Look!" Myope cried all of a sudden and pointed at the sky above the Great Lake. There was a black spot popping up and down in the air. The spot drew nearer and nearer, all the time growning. Every student in front of the castle was now looking at it.

"It´s a dragon!" cried one of the younger Slytherins.

"Dragons actually exist?" Adam Goldbergh cried excitedly. "Cool!"

Al looked up at the dragon nervously. He had seen what those beasts were capable of in Romania. Were they in danger? But then he saw professor Slope and the other teachers standing calmly in the crowd and he realised that dragon probably was why they had been ordered outside. That made sense. When was a British kid able to see a dragon? It was an opportunity which wasn´t on offer every day.

"This," explained professor Slope and he didn´t care to magnify his voice as he was only speaking to his Slytherins and not caring about the rest of the school, "is a delivery dragon. They are used for loads which are too heavy for owls."

"Isn´t that a bit risky?" Al asked doubtfully. "Dragons can be quite vicious."

"A phoenix is the only other magical creature which can carry comparable loads and phoenixes are extremely rare. You are, of course, right, Albus. Dragons are dangerous creatures. Delivery dragons are not only a special breed – they have sea dragon blood – but also specially trained. They´re never used but when led by their trainer."

"What does this dragon deliver, Sir?" asked Millicent.

"Robes, of course," smiled professor Slope.

Hadn´t it been for the proverbial Slytherin self-control, they´d have cheered. As it was the Slytherins awaited the dragon´s arrival eagerly, but in silence.

Al tried to get as good a view as possible of the arriving beast. Sea dragon blood? He knew sea dragons from pictures, but had never actually seen one. Sea dragons weren´t capable of flying. They looked more like snakes, while land dragons resembled lizards with wings. Though using sea dragons made sense when one wanted to breed tame dragons. They were famous for their gentle nature.

The boys and girls – Slytherins as well as the other houses – craned their necks. The dragon looked like a Swedish Shortsnout, but its body was a bit longer and the scales glittered as if they were wet. Between the wings of the beast was a saddle and in it was the dragon´s trainer, a man who reminded Al a bit of Uncle Bill. The dragon trainer had long red hair, he wore muggle jeans and shirt along with dragonhide boots. From his ears dangled fangs and he also wore one on a leather string around his neck.

The wizard directed the dragon to fly a loop over the waiting students. Then he ordered the beast to empty the sack it was carrying in its claws on the lawn. Suddenly Hagrid was there and threw a sheep carcass for the dragon to catch. The dragon trainer uttered a cheerful cry before he directed his charge back up in the sky.

"It´s really easy with them delivery dragons," Hagrid explained to the assembled Slytherins. "Basically like owls. You take your post, you give them a treat and off they go." Those students who had Care of Magical Creatures nodded. "Next weeks lessons will be on dragons for fifth year up."

"Well," said professor Slope, "what are you waiting for? Get your parcels."

The Slytherins ran to the heap of paper-wrapped robes excitedly, but they knew better than to fight for their post like houses of lesser dignity would have done. The prefects were the only ones to pick parcels up from the floor. They read out the name of the addressee and the student called stepped forward to take their delivery.

Half an hour later the Slytherin second year boys were back in their dormitory, unpacking. Enrico had gotten two sets of new robes. Scorpius and Al found four in their parcels each, three for themselves and one for Vern.

In Al´s parcel was also a letter.

_Dear _Al, it said_, I hope you are well and the person who ruined your and your friends´ robes will be caught soon. Mrs. Malfoy notified me that they were sending robes for Vern, too. So I bought only one for him. Please write, if he needs more. Did Enrico get new robes? It might be a problem if his family is in Italy. Hugs, Mum_

_PS: Lily wants a photo of you in pink robes. _

"Ah, I should have put a camera on my birthday list," cried Scorpius. "Just imagine what we could do with photos of people in pink robes."

They had a good laugh at the thought, but nevertheless disposed of the pinkish robes quickly and put on their new black ones.

-x-

Things were back to normal in Slytherin house, which meant that Al and his friends spent Sunday afternoon practising transfiguration. This week´s task was to turn snails into snuff-boxes (the ´gifted´ group) and to make bookmarks from sheets of parchment (the ´inept´ group). Professor Karpov had put an end to the ´inept´s attempts to improve by deducing points for doing the wrong homework.

"Bookmarks from parchment!" Vern raged as he produced one with a picture of Karpov being kicked by a goat. "I did that at primary school! Muggle primary school, mind you!"

"Good one, Parker," said Jonah as he walked by and saw the bookmark.

Vern snorted in response and tapped the bookmark with his wand. The picture started to move and professor Karpov rubbed his aching behind.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Scorpius asked in awe.

"It´s quite simple once you know the spell. It´s _vexo_. Looked it up especially for Karpov."

They fooled around with the spell for a while. Vern, it turned out, was by far the best of them when it came to magicking pictures (Scorpius was quite good with a quill). The boy beamed with pride when several of the older students joined them and one of the fifth years cried "We´ve finally discovered your special talent, Parker! These pictures are amazing!".

By dinner time all of them knew how to make a picture move, but none of them had produced a snuff-box.

"We´ll continue after dinner," suggested Al. "No use missing the meal."

"Right you are, Al," said Scorpius. "All those cartoons made me hungry. Did I tell you that Mum´s had a medical check-up? It was in the letter I got this morning with my parcel. I´m going to have a sister."

"I told you so," grinned Al and slapped his friend´s shoulder playfully.

The blond sighed dramatically. "I so hoped it was going to be a brother. I have no idea how to be a big brother for a girl!"

"You have no idea how to be a big brother at all," Al pointed out.

"Well, it can´t be that hard," teased Scorpius, "as even you can manage."

"Hey!" protested Al. "You´ll want my advice, so better be nice."

They giggled all way up to the Great Hall. In the Entrance Hall they met Rose and Circe, who seemed to have been waiting for them.

"We´re sorry," said Rose without further ado.

"Sorry?" Al and Scorpius asked in unison. "What for?"

"For laughing when you wore those awful robes," said Circe. "That was not a nice thing to do. Not after we had that green hair last year and know how it feels to be ridiculed."

"It wasn´t so bad for us," Al pointed out. "The whole house wore the same robes. It must have been harder for you."

"And," Scorpius said honestly, "we´d have laughed, too, if it had been Gryffindor in pink robes. – We´d have apologised later," he added hastily when Rose glared at him. "But first we´d have laughed."

"Look," Al tried to change topic. He showed the girls one of the bookmarks Vern had made. They had a good laugh, but only until a cold voice interrupted them and the bookmark was snatched from Al.

"Is this how you respect your teachers? Detention, all four of you. Tomorrow after dinner in my office."

The four second years watched professor Karpov enter the Great Hall in a swirl of robes.

"What´s the matter with you? You look like you´ve seen a ghost." Enrico asked as he joined the group.

-x-

Professor Slope lost no time in informing Al and Scorpius of his view of the latest development of discipline in his house.

"Potter, Malfoy," he hissed at them, "what did you think as to publish offensive cartoons of a Hogwarts teacher?"

Al stared down at his plate in shame. Scorpius was a bit more defiant. "We didn´t exactly publish them, Sir."

"Malfoy, what would you call it when you show them to students of an other house?" Professor Slope was shaking with rage. "For your information, Professor Karpov just informed me that he´s taking twenty points from Slytherin for your behaviour. I´m absolutely disgusted with you two! As if Slytherin house hadn´t enough on their plate!"

"We´re sorry, Sir," piped Al. "We´ll apologise to the professor."

"That you will! And you´ll do it today! Before you return to your dormitory!"

"Yes, Sir," the two boys answered in unison.

Professor Slope gave them one last glare before he left the Great Hall in a hurry.

"I´m sorry," said Vern meekly, "I didn´t mean to cause trouble."

"Trouble? Those pictures are fun!" said Scorpius. "It´s our own fault we got caught." Al thought that he could have easily foregone the fun if it would have spared him the trouble, but then Vern was so happy that he had at last found something he excelled at, so Al said nothing. "Well, Al," Scorpius continued, "it seems we have to go upstairs to see the professor."

Al craned his neck. He had assumed that professor Karpov was at the head table, but it seemed the professor had left the table early. The boy sighed. That meant walking up all the way to the man´s office.

"We could go to see Rose and Circe," Scorpius suggested.

Al shook his head. "Do you really think they´ll want to see us after we earned them a detention?" The girls had hurried to the Gryffindor table without a word of good-bye after they had been given detention.

"Do you want me to come with you and tell him it was I who made those bookmarks?" asked Vern.

Al and Scorpius both refused the offer. "He won´t let us off the hook, so no use to get you into trouble, too," the blond pointed out.

They walked up the stairs slowly and in silence as neither boy felt happy with the task at hand. They were startled by voices on the second floor.

"I told you he was weak, Florence," said a man in a heavy Eastern European accent. It must be professor Karpov. Al and Scorpius stopped short and the blond pulled Al behind a suit of armour. "He doesn´t even control his own students! Only this evening I had to give detention for disrespectful behaviour to two of his house!"

"Ewgeny, I didn´t marry him for his disciplinary skills, although you might want to notice that he´s a very successful head of house. Slytherin had to face hard times after the War and it´s thanks to Jeremia that the house is doing well."

"Doing well?" sneered professor Karpov. "I ask you! The students from his house are the worst of the school! No other house is so disappointing in its achievements."

"I will no longer listen to you insult my husband. Good night, Sir!"

A moment later Madam Slope rushed past the boys´ hiding place. Professor Karpov followed a little later. Al and Scorpius waited ten minutes before they followed him upstairs. Al´s heart hammered like mad when they knocked at the teacher´s door.

"What?" The door was pulled open forcefully.

"We came to apologise for our inappropriate behaviour, Sir," said Al, mustering up all his courage. Scorpius nodded.

"You wake me up for that rubbish?" the professor growled. "Ten points from Slytherin for disturbing my night rest!" He slammed the door shut.

"What?" Scorpius asked in disbelief. "He wasn´t even in night clothes!"

Al sighed. "Come on, Scorp, we better go and explain to professor Slope why we lost another ten points for Slytherin."

This was a conversation neither of them was looking forward to.

-x-

"What do you think, Scorpius," Al asked. "Wouldn´t it suffice to tell the professor in the morning? What if he´s annoyed with us for disturbing him?"

"You know him, Al," the blond replied. "He´ll want to know at once." When he was raising his arm to knock at their head of house´s door, he didn´t look so confident. Al had to nudge him twice, before he actually knocked.

It took professor Slope some minutes to come to the door – which wasn´t really a surprise given the time – and he, indeed, looked not pleased. This teacher was in his nightshirt and would have had more reason to be angry with the boys, but he wasn´t. Instead he stifled a yawn and asked whether they needed help.

"We´re terribly sorry, professor," said Scorpius.

"We didn´t mean to," added Al.

"It won´t happen again," the blond promised solemnly.

"We´ll work hard to correct our mistake."

"Would any one of you care to tell me what you are talking about?" Professor Slope stopped their onslaught of apologies and promises.

"We went to professor Karpov to apologise," Al explained. "The professor took ten points from Slytherin."

"Whatever for, Potter?" asked the professor.

"We swear, it wasn´t our fault!" – "We were polite and all!" the boys hurried to assure their teacher.

"He just opened his door and took points for disturbing him." Al added in a small voice.

"Oh, great." Professor Slope sounded tired. "It´s alright, boys. You did nothing wrong. Go to bed now." With a lopsided smile they were dismissed and the door shut.

"Are you as surprised as me that he believed us so readily?" Scorpius asked.

Al nodded, deep in thought.

"I wonder what it is about professors Slope and Karpov. I mean, just look at it. Professor Slope seems not to like Karpov too much. But Karpov simply loathes everything Slytherin, especially professor Slope. He even spoke bad about him to his wife!"

"And," Scorpius pointed out, "he´s calling Madam Slope by her first name. I never heard any professor do that."

"You never heard any professor call another by their first name," Al indicated.

"The worse! We should keep an eye on him."

"That will be rather easy," sighed Al, "seeing that we´re going to serve detention with him tomorrow evening."

"Brilliant," grinned the other boy. "This way we can investigate unconspiciously."

"Gods, sometimes you´re a menace," moaned Al.

"Oh, come on. It will be an adventure. And who but Slytherins can spy on a suspicious subject? We´re proverbially cunning."

Al was not sure he needed an adventure, but somehow he had a feeling there was no way to avoid it.


	22. Quidditch

Al, Scorpius, Rose and Circe went to professor Karpov´s office together the next evening. When they reached the door, Rose proved that she was a true Gryffindor by knocking immediately. The door was opened at once.

"Aah," professor Karpov said instead of a greeting, "nasty little children making fun of their professor. Let´s see whether you´ll still laugh when I´m through with you." He smirked at the four second years as he ushered them inside.

There was a vile stench in the air and Al had to fight back sickness when he saw where it came from. In the middle of the office stood a bucket with what looked like dead chickens.

"My seventh years worked on shape changing spells on living beings the day before yesterday," the professor explained casually. "As you see, not all of them succeeded at their first attempt. You will collect what can be used for potions."

The children made faces, but drew their wands and stepped closer to the bucket.

"Without magic." The professor smirked.

"Sir, there are spells for this work!" protested Circe, ever the Gryffindor.

"If you do it with spells," explained the professor, "it will be less of a punishment. Wands away."

It was the most pointless work Al had ever done. The chickens were no use for potions as they were old. Potions required either fresh ingredients or diligently preserved ones, but never rotten meat. Nevertheless Karpov insisted on them collecting the bile, tongues and eyes of the mostly exploded birds.

When he threw them out of his office with a malicious grin at last, Al was convinced that he´d never get the stink off his body.

"What a git!" Rose complained in a hushed voice. Her robes were sticky with chicken blood and feathers.

"Let me help you," Scorpius said kindly and cast a cleaning charm. It wasn´t perfect, but got rid of the worst dirt.

Rose pecked the blond´s cheek.

"I can´t convince you to do the same for me?" Al asked his best friend. "I´ll not kiss you," he clarified as an afterthought.

Scorpius laughed goodnaturedly and cast the charm on Al and Circe as well and finally on his own robes.

"This asks for revenge," he hissed as he examined his robes. "Never have I heard of such a disgusting detention. I swear, I will get this git!"

"He´s a teacher," said Rose. "What can you do?"

"First of all, I will find out what he has to do with Madam Slope." The boys told Rose and Circe what they had overheard last evening.

"We´ll help you," stated Rose and Circe nodded. "You may be cunning, but some courage won´t hurt if you want to get even with Karpov."

They parted ways soon afterwards as each of them was desperate to get a shower. Al and Scorpius, however, were stopped on their way through the Slytherin Common Room.

"Where do you come from?" cried Myope.

"Is there a dead animal in your pocket?" Jonah made a face.

Al told about their detention.

"I´ll go and tell father. He can´t do that," said Jonah.

"We´ll shower in the meantime," suggested Al.

"Good idea," Jonah agreed, "but somebody should go with you and keep your robes from being taken by the house elves. Dad needs to see this."

"I´ll do it," offered Vern, who still felt bad about causing trouble for Al and Scorpius with his bookmark. He followed his friends to the showers.

-x-

Professor Slope waited for Al and Scorpius in their dormitory when they returned from the showers. He held up the sac in which Vern had put their stinking robes.

"What happened?"

Al explained how they had worked with the chicken carcasses. From time to time Scorpius made a remark.

"You are aware that those chickens were no longer usable for potions?" professor Slope asked.

The two boys looked scandalized. "Of course, Sir," cried Scorpius. "You covered required quality of ingredients in our very first potions lesson!"

"I´m glad you pay attention in Potions," said the professor with a smug smile.

"Sir," asked Al, "do you know what we did to anger professor Karpov? I mean, the bookmark wasn´t nice, but it was not THAT bad."

Professor Slope scrutinized the two boys and chewed his lower lip as if trying to make a decision. When Al thought that he couldn´t stand the silence any longer, the professor made his decision and warded the door with a casual wave of his wand.

"What I´ll tell you will not leave this room."

The boys nodded solemnly.

"It´s not about you," the man continued. "it´s about me. I´ve known Ewgeny Karpov since I was sixteen. We never got along well. First it was a simple case of schoolboy rivalry, but when I got something he desperately wanted, it became hostility, at least from him. I haven´t seen him for nearly twenty years and when the headmistress appointed him, I hoped he had overcome his grudge. I was wrong."

"Do you mean to tell us he´s mean to Slytherin because it is YOUR house?" Scorpius cried.

"I´m afraid so."

"Why didn´t you tell us?" Al asked softly.

"It´s not apropriate for a teacher to speak ill of a colleague. I tried to make him see reason, but he won´t. I´m trying to protect my house." The professor sighed. "You will not tell anybody what I revealed to you. This is not about you. I´m sorry you had to suffer for a grudge against me." The professor indicated the sac again, then he lifted the wards and left in a hurry.

"What did he say?" Enrico and Vern must have waited in front of the door.

Al and Scorpius exchanged a guilty look. "Nothing," they lied in unison.

-x-

Al lay awake for hours, thinking things over. He guessed that professor Slope had meant to make them feel better by telling them about his old animosity (or was it a grudge? Enmity? What was it?), but in fact he didn´t. The question how bad the situation between the two teachers actually was bothered the boy immensely. He just wished he could talk with Scorpius, but it was out of question with Vern and Enrico in the room.

It seemed that Scorpius wanted to talk, too, for he tried to get some minutes with Al alone all morning, but to no use. Vern and Enrico were suspicious the two hadn´t told the whole story and stuck to them like glue. Al had to admit that their lie had been quite obvious and therefore didn´t begrudge their dorm mates´ curiousity.

It was after History of Magic that he and Scorpius finally managed to shake off the other two second years and slide into an empty classroom.

They made sure to stand at the far end of the room from the door in order not to be listened in on from the corridor.

"What do you think?" Scorpius whispered urgently. "Do you believe Karpov is taking out his grudge against professor Slope on Slytherin?"

"Well," Al whispered back, "he doesn´t like Slytherins. That much is obvious, but I can´t tell for sure whether it´s because of professor Slope. But then, the professor said he´s known him for a long time. So his guess seems believable for me."

Scorpius nodded, deep in thought. "I wonder what it is that Karpov wanted, but professor Slope got."

"I have no idea," admitted Al.

"Anyway," the blond pointed out belligerently, "we can´t let him treat us this way. We have to get even."

"Do you have a plan?" Al asked curiously. Sometimes he couldn´t help a feeling that the small Malfoy heir was the better Slytherin.

"Not yet. This has to be planned really well. First of all we need information on the subject of the operation. It´s time to call for house unity!"

-x-

Operation ´Harpie´ – the codename was brought up by Adam – was designed to be a longterm project. The Slytherins agreed that professor Karpov needed to be taught a lesson, but was too dangerous to approach without preparation. The House of the Snakes was not ready to lose one house point in the course of the action. No, they were not going to act like Gryffindors! They were going to collect bits of information, come up with a plan, get the professor and come out of the fight with their heads held high and proud.

Al was glad that they didn´t give in to Karpov´s malice and that the house was doing this together. The days rushed by with homework, gathering information about Karpov and Quidditch training sessions. It was like the school year had just started and then it was time for the first match of the year, Slytherin against Gryffindor.

Al and Scorpius were both nervous, but training had gone well for some time now. They were well accustomed to working with their fellow chaser Aurora and confident that everything was going to turn out well. Nevertheless, Al didn´t feel like having breakfast at all on that bright Saturday morning near the end of October, the last before Halloween.

"It will be a great game," said Enrico and tried to coax his friends into eating some toast at least. "Look, it´s the brightest day in weeks, probably the last sunny day before winter. If that isn´t a good omen, then I don´t know."

"You´ll do great," added Vern. "You´re such good flyers."

The two smaller second years blushed at the praise and Al tried to cover his awkwardness by nibbling on a slice of toast, but it tasted like parchment and he put it down after his second, tiny bite.

Professor Slope came to the changing rooms before the match to wish the team good luck. "Miss Hopkirk, I know you trained the team well, I have full confidence in you and the team to add to Slytherin´s glory today. Nevertheless, keep in mind that your most important issue is the safety of the team. I want you to do well and win, but not at all cost. Be safe, all of you."

"Thank you, professor," said Ariadne solemnly, "we´ll do our best for Slytherin."

When the team entered the pitch, there were loud cheers from the crowd. The Gryffindors were already out and Al spotted James on his broom at the far end of the pitch, near the Gryffindor stands, which were a sea of red. The Slytherin stands were – of course – all green. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were colourful. Both houses wore their own colours, but also green and red for friends. Al was content to see that especially Hufflepuff wore quite some green. There had been games last year when only Slytherin wore green.

"That must have been quite a speech your and my dad gave last year," whispered Scorpius.

Al grinned.

The two boys kicked off and hovered near the ball-trunk. Madam Hooch, the referee, released the balls only a minute later and Scorpius won the quaffle for Slytherin with an excellent move. James, who played chaser for Gryffindor, howled with rage and gave chase.

It was like one of their Saturday afternoon soccer games, only airborne. Scorpius flew towards the Gryffindor hoops with half the Gryffindor team behind him. When they nearly had him, he threw the quaffle to Al, who continued towards the rings and shot the first goal for Slytherin.

The crowd cheered and Al, Scorpius and Aurora touched their hands as they passed each other at full speed. Then Gryffindor was in possession of the quaffle and they had to try to get it back.

Al lay flat on his broom to gather speed and soon he caught up with James. The two brothers were determined not to let the other win and they jostled in midair. Scorpius came to Al´s aid and the two smaller boys pushed James from the left and right until he dropped the quaffle and Aurora caught it.

Al and Scorpius took flight from James immediately after he let the quaffle go and just in time to avoid a bludger. The older Potter brother was hit on the shoulder, but immediately signalled his team mates that he wasn´t hurt.

The game was quick and no team could gain a big advantage. Al shot several goals, as did Scorpius and the Slytherin fans cheered for their new players as much as for those who had been on the team for some years.

Ariadne performed some spectacular saves and Al had to admit that, if it hadn´t been for her, the Gryffindors would have been far in the lead. But then again, perhaps not, as the Slytherin chasers were several times only stopped by the equally excellent Gryffindor keeper.

The game went to and fro, the beaters aiming at the opposing chasers, the chasers dodging the bludgers and the seekers hovering above the whole scenario in search of the snitch. Al was just going after James for what seemed the hundreth time this morning when it happened.

Aurora, who had flown around the pitch gathering speed was approaching James from the front, when her broom stopped short in midair. The girl lost her grip on the handle and shot forward. Al could see the fear in her eyes for a moment before she started to fall.

"James, take her left side!" Al screamed and went after his housemate in a neckbreaking dive. He had no time to see whether his brother reacted, he only knew that he had to catch Aurora. He managed to grip a flap of her robes, but the screaming girl was too heavy for him to stop her and his own broomstick. Al tug with all his power, but the ground was still approaching way too fast.

Then James was there. The older boy gripped Aurora´s arm. Together they managed to slow her fall, but not enough. With a thud the Potter brothers and the girl crashed into the ground.

First there was stunned silence, then Al heared somebody scream. He tried to disentangle himself from the moaning girl and James, but somehow his arms didn´t work properly.

"Don´t move," he heard Scorpius say. "You´ll hurt yourself and the others. Let the teachers sort you out."

A moment later Hagrid was there and professor Slope.

"Careful, Hagrid," said the professor. "Lift James first. Then we can get to see the others."

"All right, professor," said the half-giant, "step aside."

Al felt some weight being removed from his legs and his brother swear violently. So James was alive. Good.

"Karpov," professor Slope continued. "Can you take Al? I´ll take Aurora to the hospital wing."

"Of course I will take the boy and leave the little girl to you, Jeremia." Al was moved on a stretcher. Then everything went dark.

-x-

Al woke in a room he didn´t recognize. He tried to sit up to get a better look, but was pushed back on the pillow gently.

"Stay down, ," said Madam Slope and Al realised he must be in the hospital wing.

"James?" Al whispered weakly. His lips were dry like parchment.

"Your brother is in the bed on your left. He has a broken leg, but otherwise he´s well. He´s sleeping. Miss Conifer was not so lucky. She broke some ribs and an arm, but thanks to you and your brother she will be well." The matron held a glass to Al´s mouth and helped him drink. A little later Al felt sleep reaching for him and he didn´t resist.

-x-

When the boy woke again, it was dark outside.

"Welcome back, mate," he was greeted by Scorpius.

Al blinked and the grinning faces of his friends came into focus. Al moaned.

"What can we get you?" Vern asked with concern.

"´M thirsty," Al muttered and shortly later a goblet was moved into view. Al sat up carefully and Vern helped him by holding the goblet to his mouth.

"That was quite a stunt you pulled," said Scorpius and his tone betrayed how worried he had been about his friend. "The Gryffindors claim you should have gone into their house."

"Loyalty, Mr. Malfoy, is a typical Slytherin quality. Mr. Potter couldn´t let his housemate fall to death." Professor Slope stepped to Al´s side. "Your parents will be here to see you in a little while. They are with the headmistress at the time being."

"You called Mum and Dad?" Al moaned.

"Of course," the professor said solemnly. "You and your brother were injured in an attack. Your parents have a right to be informed."

"An attack, Sir?" James voice came from somewhere to Al´s left. Scorpius and Enrico stepped aside to let Al see his brother.

"An attack," professor Slope confirmed. "Miss Conifer´s broom was manipulated by strong magic."

"Do you know who it was?" Aurora asked from Al´s other side.

"A house elf by the name of Creepy."

"Did he say why?" the girl sounded fearful.

"We´re not sure why and at the moment being, we can´t ask him." The professor pointed to the far end of the room where a small frame lay in a bed, heavily bandaged. "He punished himself for hurting a human, at least this is what we guess. We´re not sure he´ll survive."

"What is this assembly about?" Madam Slope came into view with three trays hovering in front of her. "My patients need rest. Out! All of you!"

Professor Slope huffed, but his wife shooed him out of the hospital wing playfully, before she put trays of food in front of her patients.

-x-

The three ate in silence first, but by the time they had finished their main course (shepherd´s pie) the Potter brothers started a chat.

"That was one stunt you pulled, Al," James said between two spoonfuls of mousse au chocolat, "worthy of a true Gryffindor. I think you really went into Slytherin because the hat wanted to promote the house. There is a Gryffindor in you."

"No need to insult me, big bro´," Al drawled. One year earlier he´d have given about anything to hear James say this, but now it just seemed not right. Al felt at home in Slytherin house and wouldn´t go to another for all the pixie dust in professor Slope´s storecupboard.

"No kidding," James insisted, "that was pretty heroic."

"Anyway," Al sighed, "thanks for your help. I couldn´t have held her without you."

"Oh, you slowed her down enough for me to catch up. I´d have been too slow if it weren´t for you."

Aurora giggled from Al´s other side. She made a face. "Stop quarreling," said the fourth year. "You both saved my life. There´s enough credit for two in it. Stop trying to make your brother look even better than he is."

Both Potters blushed.

"I´d be dead, if it hadn´t been for you." Aurora stated and took a small spoonful of her dessert.

"Do you know who´d do such a thing to you, Aurora?" Al asked. "Don´t misunderstand me, but I mean, who´d attack a fourteen year old girl? Does your family have enimies? I somehow can´t picture you making an enemy."

"You truely are a Slytherin, Albus Potter!" Mum laughed and embraced her younger son while Dad hugged James. "Investigating and gathering information in a hospital bed."

Al burried his nose in her robes for a minute. He hadn´t heard their parents enter the ward, but being safe in Mum´s arms felt good and he was going to enjoy it for as long as she was willing to hug him.

Mum and Dad changed place after a minute or so and Al was hugged by his father, though more in a companiable than protective manner.

"Of all the idiotic Gryffindor things any Potter ever did, this was the worst," Dad laughed. "And with the best outcome. You saved your housemate."

"And we´re very grateful for that," growled a deep voice behind Dad. A bearlike man with a black beard going down to his navel and long hair stood by the foot of Al´s bed. Beside him stood a delicate blonde woman in pale blue robes, who was unmistakably Aurora´s mother. "I´m Hyperion Conifer and this is my wife, Theia."

Dad shook hands with the Conifers.

"We´ll be forever grateful for what your sons did for our family. Aurora is our only child after her siblings were killed in the War." Mr. Conifer didn´t only look like a bear, but also sounded like one. Aurora´s father shook hands with Al and James, Mrs. Conifer even hugged them and Al felt himself blush. After their thank-yous the Conifers went to sit with Aurora and Mum and Dad conjured chairs between their sons´ beds.

"Now, Al," said Dad and smiled, "it seems that you have a rather strong Gryffindor side in you."

"Do you think I´m in the wrong house?" the boy whispered.

"Not at all! I told you that the bravest man I ever knew was a Slytherin. Most witches and wizards would fit into more than one house. The hat considered putting me in Slytherin."

Al smiled. He had forgotten about that.

"So, what about that elf?" he asked curiously. Certainly, Dad knew more. He and Mum had confered with the headmistress after all.

"Not much," said Mum. The two brothers listened intently. "They can´t question him, even Legilimency seems too risky for his health at the moment. And they have little hope he remembers who made him do it."

Mum and Dad stayed for nearly an hour. They told the boys about Lily´s latest pranks, Kreacher´s new recipe for fudge and Gran Molly´s plans to go to China.

Madam Slope came after they had left to give them all healing potions and informed them that – although they weren´t seriously injured – the Potter brothers had to spend a night in the infirmary. Given a choice, Al would have prefered his own bed in the dorms, but there was nothing to be done about it.

The boy lay awake for what must be hours. James snored softly on his left and Aurora´s breathing came softly and regularly from his right when his locket warmed.

Al scrambled to a sitting position and opened it.

"Muffliato," Severus whispered urgently.

Al searched for his wand in the semi-darkness (a full moon was shining through the mullioned windows) and cast the spell.

"Good," said Severus, not caring to whisper any longer. "Now nobody can overhear us. What were you thinking, going and nearly getting yourself killed!"

Al snorted. "As if you´d have let her fall."

"No, I wouldn´t have," Severus admitted. "Minerva said I could go and visit after curfew. You have no idea what I´ve been through, knowing that you were hurt!"

"I´m sure the headmistress told you it wasn´t serious."

"As if I´d believe her," snorted the portrait.

"What do you know about the attack?" Al hoped that Severus had overheard something in the headmistress´ office, but either he hadn´t or he wasn´t ready to share the information with the boy.

They chatted for a little while before Severus bode Al a good night and the boy went to sleep.


	23. Halloween again

Al returned to Slytherin house after breakfast. Surprisingly the whole house was assembled in the Common Room and they cheered and clapped when Al entered through the magical wall.

"It´s high time that Slytherin has a resident hero," cried Ariadne and slapped Al on his back companionably.

"Hey, don´t beat up the man," laughed Jonah, "he´s still recovering!" He ushered Al to one of the armchairs near the fireplace. Lots of sweets were laid out on several of the small coffee tables. There were also bottles of butterbeer and pumpkin juice. "Okay, people, now that our guest of honour is here, we can get the party started."

"Uhm, shouldn´t we wait with the party until Aurora returns?" Al piped.

"Nah," Jonah drawled, "we´ll have one for her. Come on, it´s Sunday and we have a reason to celebrate. Don´t be a spoilsport."

It was quite a party. Everybody wanted to talk with Al, shake his hand or slap his back. Scorpius and the other second years had to fight nail and tooth to be able to sit with their friend.

"I forgot to ask yesterday," Al said as he remembered something. "What about the match?"

"Algie caught the snitch right when you went after Aurora," explained Scorpius. "First nobody realised, because everybody was craning their neck for you and James trying to catch her. He practically had to hit Madam Hooch with it. We won and Slytherin is in the lead for the Cup."

"First time in a decade," smiled Jonah. "You´re good for us, Potter."

Al took a sip of pumpkin juice as he had no idea what to say in answer to the praise.

The party went on all morning and Al enjoyed it a lot, but only until Eve tried to settle down on his lap. The boy stood abruptly. "I have to go and look for Circe, my girlfriend. She will be worried about me," he growled, emphasizing the word girlfriend and set out to leave for the Great Hall.

Scorpius stood and grinned. "I´d better go with him for if he finds Circe he´ll probably find Rose, too. Not that she has reason to worry, but better be safe."

Some of the older boys laughed.

Side by side the two Slytherin chasers stepped into the corridor.

"You won´t tell Circe about Eve?" Al asked awkwardly.

"What kind of mate do you think I am?" Scorpius sounded scandalized. "And you did nothing wrong. You left when she approached you."

"Approached? Bloody hell, I thought she was going to jump on me! I really have to do something about her."

"There´s not much you can do," shrugged Scorpius. "I mean you´ve made it clear over and over that you´re not available. What can you do if she simply doesn´t get it?"

"I thought maybe I´ll talk to Adam. He´s her brother, he has to have some influence on her." They walked side by side for a little while. "This might be a good idea," Al mused. "Listen, what about we nick some cake from the kitchens and look for the girls? We could have a picnic by the lake."

"It´s pretty cold outside," Scorpius pointed out. "Why don´t we make it a picnic somewhere inside?"

They decided to leave the decision about the where to the girls and walked to the kitchens. Al tickled the pear and the picture swung back.

The elves gasped and drew back several steps. The boys looked puzzled. Neither of them had been to the kitchens more than a few time, but each single time they had been there the elves had fallen over themselves to serve them.

"Wizards are not allowed in the kitchens," one elf said finally.

"Sorry," Al said politely. "We didn´t mean to disturb you. We wanted to ask for a picnic basket for four."

"You is getting your basket in a moment," said the elf defiantly, "but you is to wait outside."

The two Slytherins returned to the corridor. It took barely five minutes until three elves popped out of thin air in front of them. One put the basket down in front of the two boys. "You is not to come back to bring the basket. You is to leave it with the laundry," said one of the elves.

Then the three creatures retreated through the picture without taking their eyes off the two humans.

-x-

Scorpius carried the basket as they went looking for Rose and Circe. Al suggested to try the library first. Rose was Auntie Mione´s daughter after all. It turned out to be a good guess. The two girls sat at one of the tables, absorbed in a tome.

Al walked over to them while Scorpius waited by the door with their basket. The librarian – a very old witch named Madam Pince – would have his head if he tried to walk inside with a basket full of food.

"Al!" the two girls cried happily and cousin Rose hugged him. Circe hinted a hug, too, but as Madam Pince looked at them sternly over the rims of her glasses, she blushed and stepped away.

"They wouldn´t let us visit when you were in the hospital wing!" Rose whispered urgently. Circe carried the book they had been reading back to its shelf and the three walked out of Madam Pince´s realm to join Scorpius.

"They let us visit," the blond explained, "but they threw us out after ten minutes. They said they needed rest."

"I´m glad you´re healed," Circe said shyly. Al smiled and sneaked his hand around hers. The girl gasped, but allowed it.

"What about a little picnic?" Scorpius asked Rose.

"Oh, what a wonderful idea," Rose beamed. "Let´s go to the lakeside! I know a warming spell."

So the lakeside it was. They walked along the shore for a while until they found a quiet bay, where they couldn´t be seen from afar. Al told them about the Conifers´ visit and about the injured elf in the ward while they walked. Scorpius unwrapped a soft brown blanket and Rose applied her warming spell to it. Five minutes later the four second years sat in a bubble of pleasantly warm air and Rose helped Scorpius unpack the basket.

"Did you prepare the food yourselves?" she asked curiously. "No offence, boys, but these sandwiches look pretty sloppily made."

"No," Al informed his cousin, "we got the basket from the kitchens. The elves were acting pretty strange." He told the girls how they had been all but thrown out of the kitchens.

"I can understand them," said Circe. "Look at it from their point of view. One of them lies in the infirmary, severely injured. One of them was imperiused to dye the Slytherin robes pink and I´m sure they are aware that they´re suspected to have let Peeves into Slytherin house earlier this year. And then two wizards walk into the kitchens! They must be very scared."

"Do you really think they suspect US to be able to confund one of them?" Scorpius asked in disbelief. "House elves are extremely powerful. No twelve year old wizard is a threat for any of them."

"This could mean," said Rose, "that the real culprit is someone that they wouldn´t have considered dangerous either. They were proven wrong and now they´re scared of even twelve year old wizards."

Al thought about it. "You mean the culprit is someone the elves trusted?"

Rose nodded. "A teacher or an upper year student, perhaps."

"We should try to talk to one of them," suggested Al.

"It could be worth a try," Scorpius agreed. "For now, let´s have our picnic."

They shared sandwiches and pumpkin juice. There were also some candy-covered apples. "Mmmh," purred Circe. "I love these. It seems they already started their preparations for the Halloween feast." Al made a mental note to get her some of those apples for Christmas.

When they returned to the castle, Al and Scorpius went looking for Jonah and told him about the house elves´ strange behaviour. The older boy listened to their story and then repeated what Circe had said earlier. "They were probably scared of you." Nevertheless Jonah asked the other Slytherins to observe the elves when the house met at the Common Room in the evening.

"They seem to be moving in pairs lately," said one of the sixth year girls.

"Now you say it, I must agree," confirmed Cyrus, the beater. "I haven´t seen a single elf since the game. They always are around in groups."

Several other students confirmed the observation. The Slytherins agreed to observe the elvish behaviour in the future and then the conversation moved on to a more serious topic.

"As everybody knows," Jonah paused to give his housemates time to cheer, "tomorrow is Halloween. After what happened to our house in the past two months, we thought," he made a gesture including himself and some of his friends, "that the feast might be an opportunity for whoever is after Slytherin house to have another go at us."

"The feast provides plenty of possibilities to poison us," Scorpius gasped, ever the true Slytherin.

"Well, we weren´t thinking exactly of poisoning," soothed Jonah, "we thought they might play another prank like the pink robes. They could slip us, I don´t know, hair colouring draught or something."

"You forget," said Ariadne, "that they left pranks behind them when they nearly killed Aurora. If we hadn´t our own resident Gryffindor," she bowed to Al, "she would be dead." Al blushed.

"You´re right," admitted Jonah, "maybe we should take poisoning into account. Anyway, we have some spells to determine whether food or drink have been tampered with. We think they´re easy enough for even the first years to learn them."

The rest of the evening was spent studying revelation spells. Luckily all teachers but professor Karpov had given only little homework due to the upcoming celebrations.

-x-

As Halloween was the most important wizarding holiday, the students were given the afternoon off. The morning lessons were fun as most teachers – all but professor Karpov – had come up with some entertaining lesson in honour of the day.

Professor Slope showed his second years how to make sneezing powder and – if Aurora was to be trusted – the fourth years how to make a draught to turn unsuspecting victims into bats. Of course he forbade the students to use said concoctions.

Professor Flitwick used all his lessons to cover tickling charms, dancing feet jinxes and colouring spells. Even Uncle Neville, professor Longbottom, honoured the occasion by teaching his first years about the Tibetian itching berry and the Mongolian tickle grass.

Al and Scorpius went to meet James and his friends for a game of muggle soccer on the lawn, but they returned early in the afternoon to Slytherin house to practice the food checking charms and to prepare their costumes.

Unlike in first year they hadn´t brought anything from home. For the upper years it was a matter of honour to transfigure their costumes and the younger ones, second year up, tried to join the fun as early as possible. As Al and Scorpius were good at transfiguration – a fact that was even acknowledged by professor Karpov – they planned on making their costumes.

Both boys put on old robes (neither was ready to risk ruining good robes, Al for one would be killed by Mum if he did) and applied a series of well-prepared spells. Five minutes later Scorpius was a very scary dementor – Eve screeched like a banshee when they came to the Common room and Al decided to write Mr. Malfoy a thank you note for giving Scorpius the idea –and Al himself was an overgrown Cornish pixie. Scorpius used one of professor Flitwick´s colouring spells on Al´s hair to turn it bright blue.

Vern and Enrico, it turned out, had prefered to make costumes without magic. Vern because he wasn´t really good at transfiguration and Enrico out of loyalty to his best friend. They had cut old robes in stripes, coloured them grey and then dressed as mummies.

The Slytherins met at their Common Room first. There were lots of mummies, some inferi, many magical creatures such as fairies and elves, two seventh years went as a centaur (Al thought he wouldn´t want to be the person providing the hind legs.). There were also some mugglish costumes like a princess, a cook or a postman.

Everybody oohed and aahed over their housemates´ costumes and then it was time to go.

The Slytherins went to the Great Hall together, demonstrating unity to the school. They didn´t sit sorted by years, but mixed to ensure the lower years had older students nearby to help them in case of an emergency.

The decorations were breathtaking as ever. Hagrid had put up his usual giant jack-o-lanterns, there were live bats and several tawny owls sat on the rafters. The headmistress was dressed as a hag with a huge black cat sitting on her left shoulder. Professor Slope was dressed as Severus Snape (Al smiled and touched his locket), his wife wore a Florence Nightingale costume. Professor Longbottom was a palm tree for the evening.

Professor Karpov was a chess piece. A black king.

The headmistress made a little speech. "Welcome," she said, "to our Halloween feast. First of all I want to congratulate all of you on your good work on your costumes. Well done!" She clapped and the whole school joined in. Then she thanked several teachers for their help with the decorations and at last she signalled the house elves and the food appeared on the tables.

The other houses tucked in immediately, but the Slytherins used the charms they had practiced first. The food was, it turned out, exactly what it should be: food.

Al was relieved. He was hungry and the dishes looked delicious. It would have been very bad if the meal had been tampered with. As it was, he helped himself to pumpkin soup for a starter. It was pure bliss. The soup was rich and creamy and warm, just like Kreacher used to make it. When Lily had been a little smaller she called it a "hug from within". Kreacher had been very proud of the compliment.

After a second helping of soup the boy proceeded to a big portion of roast chicken with vegetables. He was just indulging in buttered sweet corn when he heard an outcry of fear. Everybody in the hall stopped eating to look where it had come from.

"Look at the Hufflepuff table," Scorpius whispered urgently and Al did.

A seventh year Hufflepuff girl, who was dressed as a muggle princess, was sprouting fangs. She was feeling her teeth frantically and as they were still growing, she whimpered and sobbed. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked very frightened.

"Perhaps we were wrong about somebody being after Slytherin," whispered Aurora, who sat with Al and Scorpius to help them with their poison-checking charms if necessary.

"Stay calm, Miss Coolair," said the headmistress in a magically amplified voice. She was just going to hurry to the girl´s side, when there was an outcry of rage from the Gryffindor table. James had joined the Hufflepuff in being a fanged monster. Being a true Gryffindor, he of course did not look frightened.

Within the next five minutes more students sprouted fangs and after a quarter hour three quarters of the school had too long teeth to eat. Madam Slope hurried to and fro and cast diagnostic spell after diagnostic spell.

Professor Patrona examined the food on the house tables. "Poisoned," she stated after a while. "Every single dish."

"Well," drawled professor Karpov looking at the Slytherin table – the only fang-free one – pointedly, "I guess we all have an idea where to look for the person who did this."

"We didn´t do anything!" cried Jonah, scandalized. To play a prank on Gryffindor occasionally was one thing, but to poison the whole school was not Slytherin style.

"Don´t be ridiculous, Ewgeny," hissed professor Slope in defence of his house. "You don´t know what you´re talking about! Slytherins would have poisoned themselves, too, to cover their deed."

"Poison themselves?" professor Karpov snorted in disbelief. "How stupid is that."

"Not stupid at all when you have the antidote." Professor Slope looked smug.

"Perhaps they wanted the crime to look so ill-planned that nobody suspected Slytherin?"

Madam Slope stepped between the quarrelling men. "Stop it. Jeremia, I need you to brew me Dentashrink potion. Make it a big cauldron. The biggest you have."

"Of course. Can my NEWT students please come to help with the ingredients?" The last was directed at the Slytherin table and four seventh years, Jonah among them, rose to help their head of house.

"Thank you, Jeremia," the headmistress stepped up to the small group. "Your help is very much appreciated."

"So you´re the hero now," hissed Karpov. "Well, perhaps it would be good to investigate whether the poison wasn´t brewed in the same cauldron as the antidote. You were, after all, always an attention seeking braggart."

Nobody could tell afterwards how it happened. One moment professor Karpov was smirking at the potions master and the next the two men were rolling on the floor, hitting whatever part of their opponent they could. The other houses were dumbfounded, but the Slytherins stood on their seats and chanted a powerful chorus of "Slope, Slope, Slope!".

-x-

The headmistress, Hagrid in her tow, hurried to the aisle between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw table, where the two men were fighting.

"Stop it!" she cried. "Stop it immediately! This behaviour is disgraceful! How dare you!"

Hagrid slid past the elderly witch and grabbed the two men by their necks and pulled them apart. Professor McGonagall looked relieved, but just as she opened her mouth to address the two still kicking wizards, they drew their wands and started to fling hexes at each other.

"Accio wands!" professor Flitwick caught them from midair.

Hagrid shook the two men like ragdolls before he set them down.

"I´m absolutely disgusted!" spat the headmistress.

The Slytherins stopped their chant.

Professor Slope sported a bruise above his left brow and bled from his nose, professor Karpov´s nose looked crooked as if it were broken. He bled from three scratches on his left cheek.

"Professor Slope," continued professor McGonagall putting special emphasize on the title, "you will kindly go to your laboratory and brew the potion the nurse requested. Now!"

The small wizard gave a curt nod before he fled the hall, his head hanging in shame. The seventh years he had asked for assistance hurried after him. The rest of Slytherin house followed in a demonstration of support.

"For a short moment I thought this wasn´t about Slytherin at all," sighed Scorpius as the second year boys sat in a quiet corner of the Common Room. "Now I´m not so convinced."

Vern snorted. "At least our head of house stands up for us. He didn´t let Karpov accuse us."

The other boys agreed.

Despite the festive occasion it was a subdued evening at Slytherin house. The students still wore their costumes, but nobody was in the mood to continue the party. There was about an hour of low conversations, then everybody went to bed.

Al pulled Scorpius´ sleeve when they went to the showers and the blond winked to signal understanding. They waited until the common room was empty before they returned there.

"Vern gave me an idea," whispered Al urgently. "What if this isn´t about Slytherin but about professor Slope! Karpov said he wasn´t a good head of house when we overheard him talking to Madam Slope. And today he provoked him publicly."

"You have a point," agreed Scorpius. "The professor looks worst in all this mess. But why would Karpov be after him."

"I have no idea," admitted Al, "the most important question is, how do we proove it?"

"I´m not sure Karpov is powerful enough to imperius a house elf." Scorpius looked doubtful.

"We have to try and get more information. I think we should ask Vern and Enrico to help. They are our friends and it would help if we could talk openly at least in our dorm."

"Good thinking, mate." Scorpius slapped Al´s shoulder and the two boys went back to their dorm.

"Where have you been?" Enrico greeted them.

Al looked at Scorpius for reassurance and then he told the two other Slytherin second years about what he and Scorpius had found out and their suspicions.

"Of course we´ll help," said Vern. "If Karpov is behind this I want to be part of his downfall."

Enrico agreed. "We are a team and four will see more than two."

"We have to be careful," Al pointed out. "If it is indeed professor Karpov who attacks our house and professor Slope, he is dangerous."

"He nearly killed Aurora," Vern reminded them.

The four boys spent the evening planning their strategy. When Al finally went to bed, he thought that it felt good to at least try and do something.


	24. Sleuths

November passed slowly. The boys were busy with homework, especially for transfigurations, and spent their evenings comparing notes on professor Karpov´s whereabouts of the day, but to no success at all. They weren´t surprised, though. There were no new assaults on Slytherin or any other house and the Slytherin second year boys decided that the teacher was laying low, waiting for a good opportunity to strike.

"He needs to go to the kitchens to imperius an elf," said Enrico. "We have to observe the corridor in front of the kitchens."

"I´m not sure," said Scorpius. "He could get them when they come to clean his classroom, office or quarters."

"I ask you," Enrico shook his head, "how often have you seen an elf cleaning our dorm?"

"Never." Scorpius pointed out.

"See," the taller blond stated. "You couldn´t have caught an elf in your quarters."

The Malfoy heir wasn´t so sure. "They´re not to be seen, but that doesn´t mean they can´t be. As far as I know, elves usually do their cleaning when they know the occupants of a room are either not there or asleep."

"That´s right," agreed Al, remembering how very few times he had actually seen Kreacher or Winky clean although they did it on a regular basis. "They clean when they´re unobserved. But if you waited for the elves, you would see them."

Enrico still looked not convinced.

"Why don´t we try it out?" asked Vern. "If Scorpius and Al are right, we will see the elves clean our dorm when we stay up long enough."

As it was Friday, the other boys agreed. Vern produced a stack of muggle cards and they played round after round. Near midnight Al couldn´t supress a yawn. "I wish they´d come soon." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Scorpius giggled. "Don´t be a baby, Al. Here," he rummaged in his bedside drawer, "have some chocolate. It will keep you awake."

Al slapped his friend playfully and broke a piece off the chunk of chocolate he was offering. "I didn´t know you had such a huge supply of sweets," he grinned teasingly.

Scorpius shrugged. "Mum seems to be afraid that I´m jealous of the new baby. She keeps sending me sweets all the time." He offered some chocolate to Vern and Enrico, too, and for a while they nibbled their chocolate in silence.

"So are you?" Vern broke it at last.

"So am I what?"

"Jealous." The other three boys looked at Scorpius expectantly.

The blond smirked. "Nah! – Why would I? I know that my family adores me and the Malfoy fortune is still big enough for two."

"You´re not full of yourself, are you?" teased Al.

"No, it´s true!" protested Scorpius. "They worship the ground I´m walking. And why not! I´m gorgeous."

Al rolled his eyes theatrically. "If your Dad had an attitude anywhere near this one, I understand why he and my Dad didn´t get along."

"Well, I will admit," Scorpius said somewhat chastised, "that I inherited a tiny bit of the proverbial Malfoy arrogance, but most of the time I don´t show it off."

Vern laughed and threw a pillow at the smaller boy. Within seconds a fierce pillow fight was going on. The boys giggled, laughed and shrieked. Pillows were thrown, boys hid behind bedside tables and under duvets. Enrico even tried to get away from Vern by crawling under the bed. He was pulled out from there by madly giggling Al and Scorpius, while Vern was bashing his backside with a pillow.

They were interrupted by a faint plop. A house elf had appeared in the middle of the room. Al stared at the small creature in astonishment.

"Reggy?" he asked when he had recovered from his surprise.

-x-

"Master Al!" squealed the young elf and rushed to hug the boy around his knees. The tiny creature beamed up at his childhood friend, but only for a minute. Then he withdrew and hung his ears. "Bad Reggy! Bad Reggy!" he murmured urgently and his minute frame shook.

"Reggy! What´s the matter?" Al knelt beside the elf.

"Reggy is a bad elf!" cried the elf in a high-pitched voice. "Reggy is to punish himself, but Mistress forbids!"

Fortunately Al had experience with house elves. Kreacher and Winky rarely felt a compulsion to punish themselves, but it happened from time to time and the Potter children knew what to do.

"Reggy, explain why you are a bad elf!" Al ordered sternly.

"Reggy is not to reveal his presence! But Master Al saw Reggy!" the elf sounded desperate.

Al did some quick thinking. "We will go to bed quickly and pretend we didn´t see you cleaning," he offered.

"It´s not about Reggy cleaning," wailed the elf. "It´s about Reggy being at Hogwarts! – Bad Reggy! Bad Reggy!" The young servant was getting more and more agitated.

"Why are you at Hogwarts?" Scorpius asked as if it was the most natural thing to do.

"Reggy is to investigate."

Al, Scorpius and the other boys exchanged glances.

"Reggy," said Al, "we are investigating, too. Perhaps we can work together. Auntie Mione – your Mistress – will be impressed how clever you are when you get help. You know that you can trust me. I´m a great ally for investigations."

Finally the elf stopped to shiver. "Mistress said Reggy was to work undercover. Reggy mustn´t be seen or caught." Despite his words the young elf looked eager to have an ally and Al decided to push a little more.

"Reggy, think about it! Auntie Mione wants you to succeed. I´m sure the only reason she didn´t send you to me explicitely was that she had no idea that I´m working on the same case with my friends. If she had known, she´d have suggested to cooperate herself."

"Mistress says cooperation is important," admitted the elf.

"See." The four boys smiled widely at the small creature.

"Good. Reggy will team up with Master Al. But it must be a secret."

"Of course!" the boy looked scandalized by the mere thought of indiscretion. "So, what did you find out so far?"

Reggy hung his ears again. "Nothing. Reggy talks to the elves who were imperiused, but they remembers nothing. And if they remembers, they are too ashamed to tell. Reggy tries to find out where they were ambushed. But he doesn´t know where to start. The castle is too big and there are so many elves."

Al bit his lip and made a quick decision. "Reggy, we think that professor Karpov is the culprit. We have been spying on him, but we couldn´t find out anything. There are parts of the castle where students aren´t allowed. And we can´t be out after curfew. If you investigated on him, you could find out more. And it may be easier for you to find out whether any of the imperiused elves worked in the professor´s office or quarters."

The elf beamed. "It may be a start. Reggy will work on it."

"Good! We´ll stay up next Friday. Can you arrange for you to clean our dorm?"

"Of course. Reggy will come back next Friday."

The boys went to bed shortly later and Al listened to the elf cleaning the floor for a while before he fell asleep.

-x-

Reggy reported back every Friday, but all he had to tell was that the elf who had let Peeves in remembered cleaning near the hospital wing before his memory failed him and that Creepy, the elf who had nearly killed himself after the assault on Aurora´s broom, had been assigned to clean the transfiguration classroom. Nobody knew whether Creepy had ever reached his goal.

The boys were frustrated, but neither of them was ready to give up. They agreed that it would be easier to catch professor Karpov redhanded than to prove that he was behind the past attacks on Slytherin house.

Professor Slope developed a new habit of coming to the Common Room every evening to tutor his house in transfiguration. After the fistfight in the Great Hall he no longer tried to hide his dislike of his colleague. "I will be damned if that git humiliates any of my house," the man growled when he came to tutor the first time. "Goldbergh, Parkinson, come here and bring your wand!" He spent more than an hour helping Adam, Eve and Myope to make buttons of pebbles.

-x-

Then it was time to go home for Christmas. Al sat with his Slytherin friends, Rose and Circe again. They played games for most of the journey and shortly before they reached London, James joined them with his friends.

The Potter boys and Rose were picked up by Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur.

"Your parents are busy," said Granpa Arthur with a wink in Lily and Hugo´s direction. Al smiled knowingly. They were shopping for presents.

"Stop talking, Arthur," growled Gran Molly good-naturedly. "Help me get these children home. - I made a chocolate cake for you."

The three students cheered, but not as loud as the two smaller children. Granpa produced a portkey from his pocket and five minutes later they were assembled around Gran Molly´s kitchen table and indulged in Al and Rose´s favourite cake.

Lily was happy to have her brothers back and kept talking all the time. She told them about what she had learned at school – she, like her older brothers before her, attended a muggle elementary school until she was accepted into Hogwarts – and what new recipes Kreacher had tried out while they were away.

"I helped bake biscuits," she stated proudly. "For Christmas." Kreacher let the Potter children help with the Christmas preparations every year. His patience seemed to never end and somehow he managed every year to produce wonderful biscuits despite clumsy little hands helping. "We made gingerbread men."

"Great," grinned James, "I´m looking forward to biting their heads off."

After their treat of cake and cocoa the children played in the garden for a while. Al, James and Rose degnomed the garden a bit. All Weasley and Potter children knew the tale of how their fathers had used to do it and how Uncle Fred had always been the one to throw the gnomes farthest. Lily and Hugo tried to help and the boy did quite well for his age, but Lily was too small to throw a gnome over the fence and it made her very angry that she was the only one who couldn´t do it.

"It´s not fair!" she howled. "You´re pinning the heaviest gnomes on me!"

"We´re not!" cried Al.

James laughed. "At least I´m not! I´m an honourable Gryffindor. But the Slytherin – I don´t know!"

"Hey!" Al protested and smacked James´ arm playfully.

"You´re making fun of me!" Lily glared at them both.

"Which is not a nice thing to do," came Dad´s calm voice from the back door. "Come, Lily, let me show you how it´s done." Dad strolled to the group of children with Uncle Ron in his tow. He grabbed a gnome by its leg and showed Lily how to swing it over her head. The gnome gave a thrilled shriek when Dad threw it.

"Wow, Dad!" cried James. "This must have been nearly as far as Uncle Fred used to throw them."

"The Weasley men were always great with gnomes," Uncle Ron pointed out. He caught a gnome which was trying to slip past the wizards. Uncle Ron was just lifting the gnome to swing and throw it, when a harsh call came from the house.

"Ronald Weasley! Don´t you dare manhandle this poor creature!" Auntie Mione stepped out into the garden. "Put that gnome down now!"

Uncle Ron obeyed and the gnome blew a raspberry before it jogged to its home under a bush.

"Spoilsport!" muttered Uncle Ron, but he kissed Auntie Mione when she reached them and assured her that he was just trying to save the gnome from Dad. Auntie Mione returned the kiss and ushered the group to the house.

Dad rolled his eyes behind her back and exchanged knowing smiles with his sons as they followed her inside.

-x-

Mum was helping Gran Molly to lay the table for dinner. When the children entered, she put down the plates she was holding and hurried to embrace her sons. She kissed both boys´ hair and ushered them to the table.

"It´s good to have you home, boys," she smiled.

Dad waved his wand and the plates hovered to their places. Gran Molly carried a big pot of stew to the table.

"Mmh, that smells delicious!" James pointed out.

The Weasley matriarch laughed. "Little charmer! Don´t tell me the Hogwarts elves don´t feed you well!"

"They do," admitted James, "but their cooking is nowhere as good as yours." Al agreed fullheartedly.

Gran Molly giggled. "You are aware that I attended Hogwarts myself and that I know the cuisine that is served there?"

"But Mum, they´re right! I always prefered your food," cried Uncle Ron.

Dad smiled melancholically. "I guess it was the love it was prepared with that made the difference."

Gran Molly patted Dad´s hand. "You know that you were always loved here, Harry."

"From the very moment you entered the house," laughed Uncle Ron. "Mione, did I ever tell you how Ginny came downstairs in her pyjamas and we had just arrived with Harry in tow?"

"No! Do tell!" Auntie Mione glanced at Mum and Dad, who were both blushing, curiously.

Uncle Ron started his tale about how he and his brothers had rescued Dad from his aunt and uncle´s – he even pretended that there had been bars in front of Dad´s window! – and Mum had entered the kitchen in pyjamas, because she wasn´t aware that Dad was there. Mum and Dad blushed more and more with every sentence, but they couldn´t do anything about the story. Nobody ever interrupted a tale with Uncle Fred in it.

"Well," said Uncle Ron with a smirk in Dad´s direction, "he couldn´t but end up married to her once he knew what a hottie she was in her nightwear."

Everybody had a good laugh, especially as Mum secretly cast a brow-growing charm at Uncle Ron. Gran Molly scolded her when Uncle Ron´s face was covered by a red vail, but Mum claimed to be innocent. She told off Dad for hexing her brother. Dad was indignant and at last Al couldn´t tell for sure who had actually used the spell on Uncle Ron although he had thought he had seen Mum's wand a minute ago.

The Potter boys were greeted with more hugs when they returned home in the evening by Kreacher and Winky. Al wondered whether they knew that Reggy was at Hogwarts, but he didn´t dare ask as it was a secret operation. The two elves unpacked the boys´ bags – they hadn´t taken their trunks for the short holiday – and then it was already time for bed.

Mum took the children shopping the next day to give them the opportunity to get presents. Each child received a total of ten Galleons to spend, which wasn´t really much given the number of relatives and friends that needed to be presented with a gift.

Lily went for parchment and colour pencils to draw pictures for everybody. James disappeared in the back room of Weasley´s Wizard Wheezes with Uncle George. He probably hoped for special offers and a kinship bonus.

Al had been clever this time. He had spent an evening with Vern charming flower pots to sing a Christmas carrol when the flower was watered. (Vern had not much pocket money and needed a cheap present for his mother.) So all he needed was seeds, or even better seedlings, for his pots, which awaited their inhabitants in the bag in Al´s bedroom.

Mum took him to Weed´s, the wizarding garden market, when he asked her where to get seeds. She obediently explored other parts of the market while Al chose his purchases. There was a huge variety to chose from and after nearly half an hour and several descrete coughs from Mum and a very bored Lily, Al settled for magical sunflowers.

When they returned home, Al asked Kreacher where he wouldn´t mind him doing some gardening. The elf offered to do the work for his young master, but Al refused. Kreacher looked hurt and so the boy had to explain about the gifts he was making and that it wouldn´t be right to let anybody else work on his presents. Kreacher nodded in understanding, but insisted he was going to do the cleaning after Al had finished his project.

Magical sunflowers were simple plants and easy to care for and so Al needed not much time until all his pots had their flower to be. Not wanting to offend Kreacher the boy called the elf to do the cleaning before he carried the results of his work upstairs into his room.

Al spent the evening gift-wrapping his flower pots. Winky joined him after an hour and pointed out that wrapping the gifts was something he could let her help with. "Master Albus already made the present. He doesn´t need to wrap it all by himself," she said hopefully. When Al agreed – wrapping was boring – she flapped her ears excitedly and took over the roll of paper and the bows. All Al had to do was write the cards and attach them to the presents.

The next week was busy. The Weasley-Potter clan had a habit of paying each other visits during the festive season and so Al and his siblings stayed at a different relative´s home every day. Al´s owl, Mercury, was busy delivering packages to his friends. More often than not the owl returned with an answering package. Every evening, when they returned home, Kreacher or Winky handed the two brothers parcels which had been delivered during the day.

This year it was Uncle Ron and Auntie Mione´s turn to host the clan on Christmas. The Potter family – including two very excited house elves – arrived early. Kreacher and Winky hurried to the kitchen to help their son with the preparations as soon as they stepped into the house and had a confirmative nod from Dad. Al smiled. Reggy had been equally excited when he told him that he was going home for the holidays and that his mistress had told him he was going to see his parents.

Dad unshrunk the Potters´ Christmas presents, Mum and Auntie Mione discussed the decorations Auntie Mione had put up – they tried some different garlands on the mantlepiece as Auntie Mione wasn´t sure she had chosen the right one – and the three children joined Hugo and Rose in their attempts to sneak on the parcels.

"I think the big one is for me," whispered Rose to James and Al, "but I can´t read the card properly. It may also say Teddy."

"Yeah," grinned James, "the difference between Rose and Teddy is so marginal, it´s really easy to mix them up."

Rose smacked her cousin playfully.

"What?" complained the older Potter brother. "Why do I get beat up for pointing out the truth."

The argument was ended by Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur arriving. They were only the first in a flood of Weasleys to fill the house. Luckily Uncle Ron´s house was big enough. Teddy and his grandmother Dromeda arrived last.

The clan had a festive dinner. Following the tradition, Kreacher, Winky and Reggy sat with the humans, but only after everything was prepared. After the meal it was time for the presents. Granpa Arthur, being the head of the family, picked up the parcels from under the tree and handed them out to his children and grandchildren.

Soon the living room was full of torn wrapping paper and discarded bows.

Al got lots of new clothes, but also books and toys. Enrico and Circe had given him sweets. Scorpius´ present was a pair of magical mirrors. It enabled him – according to the attached card – to talk to the person, whom he chose to give the other mirror.

"Wow, I haven´t seen any of these for years," said Dad.

"You know what they are?" Al looked at his father curiously.

"I do," Dad smiled. "I owned a pair myself. You will not use them for mischief!" He suddenly looked serious and stern.

"No," Al reassured him. "I was thinking of some interhouse conversations in the evening. Nothing that could get me in trouble." He pocketed his mirrors quickly. When even Dad felt he had to warn him not to misuse the present, he didn´t want to risk Mum seeing it.

Around him children and adults admired their presents. James hugged Mum enthusiastically after he had unwrapped a magical music player. Mum returned the hug and asked Granpa Arthur to hand James the parcel with the headphones.

"Headphones?" grinned Auntie Mione. "How very sly of you."

Mum laughed. "Albus has to have got his Slytherin qualities from someone."

"I thought Harry was nearly sorted into Slytherin."

"That´s what he keeps saying, but believe me, Harry is way too harmless to be a Slytherin."

"I´m not exactly dangerous," Al joined the conversation. He had come to thank Auntie Mione for the Chemistry book she had given him.

"Not dangerous, dear," Mum ruffled up his hair. "You´re a deep one."

"Pffff," said Uncle George, "I´m a deep one, too. But nobody thought this was a reason to put me into Slytherin."

Mum laughed. "You´re not a deep one, silly. You´re a blatant prankster."

"You´re not trying to spoil one of my children, George," grinned Dad as he joined the group.

"Me? I´m hurt!"

The assembled Weasley and Potter clan spent several hours chatting, bickering and playing before they parted.

Dad called Kreacher and Winky. The two elves appeared immediately with Reggy in their tow. Kreacher carried their Christmas presents – another piece of the Black silver and a new oven cloth – and Winky held the hand of her son. She kissed the young elf good-bye with a proud smile.

It was with a warm feeling that Al went to bed that day. Meeting his family had been nice. After all the chats and jokes the boy felt loved and at ease. The day got even better when his locket grew warm several minutes after Al had retired to bed.

"Severus!" Al opened the locket immediately.

"Merry Christmas," the portrait of his namesake greeted him. "How´s your holiday?"

"Great. And yours?" Al felt stupid the moment he had asked. Were there holidays for portraits? Did they even need them?

"Quiet," said the former headmaster. If he found the question stupid, he didn´t say so. "I always find the Christmas holidays very relaxing. Most students go home and there´s not much to do for the headmistress. And when she has a quiet time, so have I."

"Hmm," Al wasn´t sure he dared ask, but then he did. "What do the portraits actually do for her?"

"I can´t tell you everything, but one of my duties is to visit my portraits. That way I can be the eyes and ears for the headmistress."

Al had never thought of the possibility. "Where do you have other portraits than in her office?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, there´s one in the research department of Weasley´s Wizard Wheezes. I help your Uncle George out with advice from time to time. In exchange I get information on the pranks the students are going to bring to Hogwarts beforehand. And one is in the head office of the potioneer guild. There are more. And to be honest, one of those is the reason of my visit. The headmistress decided that Slytherin house needs additional protection. Therefore my portrait was added to the Common Room."

"Great," cried Al. "We can talk every day!" This was a prospect which made him forget that the house was going to be under constant supervision.

"No, we can´t." Severus said solemnly. "It won´t be wise to let everybody know about our connection."

"I see." Al couldn´t hide his disappoinment.

"I thought we´d agree on a secret sign. If you need to talk, you signal me and I´ll come to your locket."

"How Slytherin of us," Al grinned teasingly.

"If we weren´t already, we should be sorted into the House." Severus grinned back.

They spent half an hour discussing secret signs. It had to be inconspicious, but clear enough for Severus not to miss it. At last they settled on Al touching his bottom lip with his left little finger.

The rest of the holidays passed quickly and all too soon Al was back on the Hogwarts express.


	25. The Slytherin War Hero

"You won´t believe it," drawled Scorpius. "Mum looks like a whale. I wonder whether all women look like that when they´re pregnant."

"The baby is due in February, isn´t it?" asked Rose. For the Potter and Weasley children pregnancy wasn´t something unusual. The family was big and nearly every year a new child or more were born into the clan.

"February," affirmed the small blond. "But the healer said it´s quite possible the baby will be a bit early. I came two weeks early."

The group – the Slytherin second year boys, Rose and Circe – played cards for most of the journey. Vern had got a new muggle set of cards for Christmas and the others enjoyed the muggle game a lot.

"It´s interesting," said Circe. "You´d think that muggle games are boring, without magic, but those muggles are so inventive!"

Vern smiled smugly and Al was glad for his cousin that he – although muggleborn and from a poor family – was able to contribute something to the group´s entertainment.

The boys rushed down to the dungeons to put away their bags before the welcome back feast.

"Let´s hurry!" cried Enrico. "I have a feeling that there will be Italian ham for starters and I want a big portion!"

"Oh, come on," Vern shot back teasingly. "You probably had Italian ham for every meal the last fortnight."

"So what. It´s good!"

Al and Scorpius laughed at their friends´ bickering, but ran along obediently to help Enrico be the first to sink his fork into the Italian ham.

The stop at Slytherin house wasn´t as quick as they had hoped. A big group of Slytherins was assembled in front of the fireplace. Al was glad he had been warned. On the wall above the mantlepiece was a new painting. In the frame slumbered a man in his late thirties. His hair was shoulder length and stringy and the long face was dominated by an overly large nose.

"Who´s this supposed to be?" asked Eve. "He´s ugly!"

"Shut up!" Al retorted angrily and without thinking. "It´s Severus Snape, the Slytherin hero!"

"Are you sure?" asked Ariadne, who had just arrived and stood behind the second year boys.

"Of course," said Al. "I recognize him from my chocolate frog card."

"I think I have his card, too." Porcia Elderbrook, a fifth year girl, rummaged in her bag and Al asked himself why anybody would carry their chocolate frog card collection with them. "Here!" the girl cried triumphantly.

The card was passed around and the Slytherins compared it with the portrait on the wall.

"It seems to be him," admitted Eve. "So, he´s a hero?"

Porcia started a lecture on the achievements of Severus Snape and soon she was surrounded by a group of first years and muggleborns, who listened eagerly.

Al and his friends went on to their dorm and then returned to the Great Hall for dinner. There was no Italian ham.

-x-

During the next two weeks Al began to wonder how anybody could have stood Severus Snape as a teacher. True, the former headmaster had sometimes been grumpy as a ghost, but Al had always assumed it had to do with being stuck at Hogwarts after having missed his opportunity to go on to the afterlife. Now he learned that Severus Snape hadn´t only made grumpiness a part of his character but the credo he existed by.

In retrospect, the first three days of Snape´s presence in the Slytherin Common Room had been pure bliss. The students tried to coax the painting into talking to them. Some tried politeness, others presenting interesting magical problems and some even staged fierce quarrels in front of the portrait, hoping that the former teacher and headmaster would settle their fights.

Three wonderful days, Severus Snape dozed in his frame, ignoring the students. Al saw him observe the room from under his lashes once or twice, but true to their agreement, the boy wouldn´t say anything.

Things changed the fourth evening. Al and Scorpius were doing their homework in front of the fireplace. Al had decided that this was a good way of keeping Severus posted on the things he couldn´t see from his frame. They just had to mention events in their conversation and the former headmaster knew.

The two boys were absorbed in transfiguring fir-needles into cuttlery – a preparatory exercise for making goblets and plates out of animals, a task which professor Karpov never grew tired of reminding them they should have mastered months ago – when Eve joined them.

"Al," she purred, "I really could do with some assistance for my transfiguration homework. Just imagine! Buttons out of stones! I mean, we have to change about everything of the object! Colour, form, material, size, everything!"

"I´m sorry, Eve," said Al, "you have to find somebody else. I´m not finished with my own homework and we have transfiguration first thing tomorrow."

"But Al," the girl insisted and threw back her long mane, "nobody explains it as well as you do!"

"I´m really sorry, Eve," Al struggled to remain polite. There was a strict codex within Slytherin house whom you were supposed to ask or not ask for help with your homework. Pestering a person who needed to do their own assignments was considered rude and shabby.

The redhead wasn´t ready to give up. "But I really need your help!" she whined insistently.

"Sweet Salazar!" thundered the portrait on the wall, "How did you ever gain access to Slytherin House when you´re so dense! The boy has neither time nor mind to do your homework for you! I suggest you find a quiet corner, sit on your backside and try with investing some work yourself! I propose you hurry or it will be five points from Slytherin!"

Eve started and searched for the person telling her off. It took her some seconds to understand it was the painting. "Five points from Slytherin?" she asked cheekily. "I don´t think I´ll lose points to a canvas and some cups of paint."

"Really?" Severus sneered. "Ten points from Slytherin for your cheek, Miss Goldbergh. I´m a former headmaster and as such I have the power to give and take points."

The students stood dumbfounded.

"Does anybody know who got themselves in trouble?" asked Jonah as he entered the Common Room through the wall. "I was at the Great Hall when ten smaragds went up in the hourglass."

The Slytherins gaped at the portrait, who smirked back at them.

"Now, what are you waiting for, Miss Goldbergh?" Severus drawled."Do I have to make it twenty to make you obey?"

Eve rushed to the back of the room and leafed through her transfigurations textbook to find a hint how to proceed with the stones.

Once Severus had given up his sleeping act, he didn´t resume it. He was awake and aware all the time. He observed the Common Room like a strict task master. He told the students off for laziness, sloppiness and stupidity. More than one girl dissolved in tears after getting the painting´s – never asked for – oppinion on her work. It was hard to remember that he was there to protect the house. Sometimes Al thought the former teacher was waging war against his own house.

-x-

Jeremia Slope had taught his Slytherins to remember the house´s very own war hero fondly, but the very hero in question needed no more than three weeks to undo what his successor had achieved in years.

The seats right in front of the fireplace, which had been the most desired for centuries stayed empty unless Al and his friends occupied them.

"A bit masochistic, are we?" Aurora laughed as she passed the boys with a glance at the portrait.

"That´s one point for cheek," snapped the former headmaster.

Al´s gaze followed the girl as she left for her dormitory, abusing Snape under her breath. When she had disappeared from view, he sighed and signalled Severus, before he left the Common Room himself.

"Yes?" the former headmaster snapped as soon as Al opened his locket in the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" asked the boy. "Slytherin house lost more points last week than last year!"

"Are you criticizing me?" Snape asked suspiciously.

Al ruffled up his hair. "Yes," he said then, gathering all his courage. "You can´t take points from people for nothing."

"This girl called you masochistic for sitting near my picture!" Snape cried indignantly.

Al sighed. "Oh, come on, just remember how you behaved during the last few days and you´ll see she had a point. I never knew you were so grumpy. Sometimes I even think you´re cruel." He blushed.

"Is that so?" the portrait was clearly offended.

"Yes," admitted the boy. "You know that I like you and our conversations, but after I watched how you treat people I sometimes think I don´t know you at all!"

"Perhaps you don´t," hissed the portrait. "I never said I was nice."

"No, you didn´t," Al agreed, "but you behaved like a nice person most of the time. Why are you so mean to the Slytherins? They are your house! I thought you were here to watch over them!"

"You can´t defend those morons! Look at the lot! They´re scheming little monsters! They´re mean to each other! Manipulating! Lazy! Cheating! Cheeky!"

"Oh, please, Severus," laughed Al. "They are SLYTHERINS! Of course they are scheming! They´re trying to gain advantages and to use their means to achieve their goals the best way they can! You were one of them! You ARE one of them. You were their head of house!"

Severus blinked. "Damn you, Albus Dumbledore!" he hissed. "Even when he´s a painting the old coot drives me crazy."

"What are you talking about?"

"Albus is the only other headmaster I knew during my lifetime. So when it comes to having a chat up in the office, it´s mostly him I talk with. It seems he talked some foolish Gryffindor attitude into me. This will change immediately." This said, the portrait walked out of the locket. Al sighed and returned to the Common Room.

Severus was back in his frame and talking to Scorpius.

"That´s it, ," Al heard him say. "Swish your wand a bit more to the left when you say the incantation."

"What are you doing?" Al asked as he stepped closer.

"What does it look like?" snapped Snape. "I do what I did all my life! I´m making sure that Slytherin shines. Can you go and bring Miss Goldbergh to me? It´s time she learns transfiguration properly."

-x-

A week later, Slytherin house witnessed a fierce argument.

"I was called to the headmistress´ office," said professor Slope sternly. "She accused me of favouring my house."

"Ha!" cried the portrait, "we all know you don´t do that! You´re the least Slytherin head of house I knew!"

"It´s not what Minerva McGonagall thinks!" the professor rose his voice as well. "Slytherin gained a suspicious amount of points last week!"

"They all worked hard to achieve that! Every single point was well deserved."

The onwatching students smiled proudly.

"Headmaster," sighed professor Slope, "it´s very generous of you to tutor the house, but you can´t award them points for doing their homework! It´s their teachers´ place to do that."

"You go and tell Minerva McGonagall that she didn´t care so much when I took points from my house! This is a pathetic attempt to discriminate Slytherin!"

Slope grimaced as if in pain. "She said you were going to say that. She ordered me to tell you that she will place Albus Dumbledore in the Gryffindor Common Room if you don´t stop showering Slytherin in points."

"What?" Snape looked furious. "I´ll be back in a minute." That said, he stomped out of his frame.

-x-

The students were never told what happened at the headmistress´ office. Al tried to find out in a private chat with his namesake, but to no use. Snape shut up like a clam. He no longer gave or took points in the Common Room, but he helped his house study with determination. His patience seemed to be endless as well as his knowledge.

Winter changed into spring without any attacks on Slytherin house. Al and Scorpius spent two evenings a week on the Quidditch pitch as soon as the wheather allowed it. And then it was time for their second ever match.

Professor Slope came to the dressing area and performed detection spells on their broomsticks, which revealed no Dark Magic at all. He then cast some protective spells before enjoining to his team that their safety was to be their first priority.

"Of course we want to win, team, don´t misunderstand me. You all know that Quidditch is the key to the House Cup, but – and this is a big but – we don´t want to win on the cost of a player´s health. Do you understand?"

The players confirmed and the professor wished them good luck.

The game was against Hufflepuff. According to paper form the whole thing should be a piece of cake for Slytherin. The house of the badgers had suffered a terrible loss around Christmas: Judith Amber, a ministry employee, had been promoted and sent to India as an ambassador. She had taken her family – four sons who all happened to be on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team – with her and Hufflepuff was stranded without a keeper, a seeker and beaters in the middle of the school year.

Severus had told the team to be careful. "You never know with Hufflepuffs," he had said, "people tend to underestimate them, because they seem to have no true talent but industry. Never underestimate what can be done with determination and hard work!"

Al, Scorpius and Aurora attacked the new Hufflepuff keeper viciously and it was obvious that the boy had not much experience. They scored again and again and soon Slytherin was so far in the lead that they were going to win even if Hufflepuff caught the snitch.

Al was thinking how well the game went when he felt a spot on his chest warm. It must be Severus who called him. Al stopped in midair and rummaged for his locket. The former headmaster knew about the Quidditch game and Al assumed he wouldn´t try to get Al´s attention during a match if it wasn´t really important.

"An emergency at Slytherin," said the portrait without preamble. "Send Slope immediately."

Al flew up to the teachers´ stand and hovered beside his head of house. "Sir!" he shouted, "You´re needed at the house immediately."

Professor Slope gave a curt nod of understanding and motioned Al back on the pitch before he left at a run.

When the students returned to the castle half an hour later, the professor stood in the Entrance Hall and blocked the passage to the dungeons.

"Slytherins," he said solemnly. "At the moment our house can´t be used. The headmistress appointed us quarters in the north tower for the time being. Happy and Sappy will show you upstairs."

Two identical house elves wearing Hogwarts towels led the way. From time to time they turned to look whether the students followed.

"Did he say quarters?" whispered Scorpius. "Quarters? What happened at the house?"

On second thought, that wasn´t Al´s worst worry. If there was damage serious enough to push them out of their homes, what had happened to Severus? Now, that was a serious question. He could hardly wait for an opportunity to check on the portrait in private.

-x-

"This is the entrance of the snakes´ nest," said Happy – or Sappy, Al wasn´t sure – and pointed at the picture of a werewolf tiptoeing after a small yellow duck in a dark forest. "Professor Slope says the password is Refugium Serpentorum."

The picture slid up towards the ceiling as the tiny creature said the password and revealed a narrow passage, which lead into a circular room.

"This," continued the elf when all the students had followed her inside, "is the new common room." It was smaller than the one in the dungeons, but it looked cozy with the squashy green armchairs and the large fireplace. As enough seats for all the house had been moved inside the room, it looked a bit cramped.

"Sappy will now show boy wizards their dormitories," the other elf chimed in. "The girl witches will go with Happy."

Obediently Al and his friends followed the small creature to a narrow staircase on the left while the girls went to the right. There was a room for each year and it was definitely smaller than their dungeon room. The second year boys found themselves faced with two bunk beds.

"Urgh," sighed Enrico. "I hate those. Does anybody mind if I take one of the lower beds? I´ll feel nauseous if I have to sleep up in the air."

"I don´t mind," said Al. He had slept in bunk beds frequently at the burrow. Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur often hosted some of their grandchildren over night and as they had plenty, bunk beds were often needed.

"Neither do I," said Vern. Enrico was his best friend, so he wasn´t going to object his choice of bed.

"I never tried a bunk bed," said Scorpius. "So I have no idea what is preferable." Al remembered the blond´s huge room at Malfoy Manor. Their usual dormitory wasn´t a quarter its size and this new room must feel for the Malfoy heir like being tossed into a cupboard.

"Why don´t Scorpius and I take the upper beds and Enrico and Vern the lower?" asked Al. "Everybody could chat with their best friend in the evening."

The others agreed.

"Where are our trunks?" asked Vern. Al hadn´t realised his was missing. There was a small cupboard with four even smaller compartements and each held some clothes, but none of the pieces of garment was Al´s.

The boy was just going to suggest asking Jonah – the prefects often got pieces of information first – when the headmistress entered their small room.

"Ah, Mister Potter and Mister Malfoy," she said kindly. "I was looking for you. – You will get your things when they have been cleaned a bit," she added when she realised the boys were looking at the cupboard. "Until then you´ll have to use what the school can provide. Please follow me."

Al and Scorpius exchanged questioning glances while they followed the old witch to her office. Neither boy felt he had done any wrong, so why were they fetched by the headmistress herself?


	26. Reggy

When they entered the witch´s office, the first thing they noticed was a tall blond wizard waiting by the fireplace.

"Grandfather!" Scorpius cried with delight and rushed to the man. He was caught in a tight embrace.

"Good news first," smiled professor McGonagall. "Lucius." She smiled at the older blond.

"I´ve come," smiled the older Malfoy happily, "to tell you that earlier this day your baby sister was born. The headmistress granted me permission to take you home for the rest of the weekend to meet her."

"A sister!" gasped Scorpius. "I wanted a brother to play with!"

Lucius Malfoy laughed. "The baby won´t play with you in the near future. She´s too small. But she´s a little beauty. You´ll like her at first sight."

"Of course I´ll like my little sister!" cried Scorpius. "What did they name her?"

"Druella Narcissa Malfoy," the new grandfather said proudly.

"Druella?" Scorpius sounded not too enthusiastic.

"After your great-grandmother. It´s a proud name for a proud little princess. Now, come, Scorpius. They´re waiting for us! – With your permission, Minerva." He pointed at the fireplace.

"Of course, Lucius," said the headmistress kindly. She stepped to the fireplace and held out a jar of floo-powder for the blond wizard. "Give your son and his wife my best wishes for their little daughter."

Mr. Malfoy inclined his head and a moment later the two blonds were gone.

The smile on the headmistress´ face died the second the fire had gone back to its normal colour. "Mr. Potter, Al," she sighed. "Please tell me that you have Severus in your locket."

Al looked up at the wall behind her desk for the first time. None of the former headmasters and –mistresses feigned sleep. They all looked at Al anxiously. Severus Snape´s frame was empty but for a straight backed wooden chair.

The boy gulped. Snape had been in his locket at the Quidditch pitch, but he wasn´t sure he was now. "What happened?" he asked anxiously.

"There was a fire at Slytherin house," the headmistress informed him tiredly. "Professor Slope was there in time to prevent severe damage – the students´ things were saved, but they smell of smoke and we´ll have the house elves clean and air them before we give them to you. However, there was some destruction in the Common Room. Severus´ canvas was severely burnt, but we aren´t sure he was in it when that happened. – Do you have him?"

Al opened the top button of his robes to better reach and removed the locket from under his clothes. He opened it, his hands shaking. "Severus?" he piped as soon as the item was one crack open.

"I´m here, I´m here!" came the former headmaster´s voice and he coughed. There were cheers from the walls and professor McGonagall sighed with relief.

"Severus!" the headmistress gasped, "you frightened us! Why didn´t you return to my office when professor Slope told you so?"

"I could hardly leave the Slytherin Head of House in a conflagration," the tiny portrait in Al´s locket replied after another cough. "Ask him and he´ll admit that I saved him from being cornered by the flames more than once." He coughed again.

"I asked him and he said he didn´t dare run for safety as long as you were there. Why did you return to Slytherin at all after you had alerted young Mr. Potter?"

Again, the answer was preceeded by a cough. "I thought I needed to point Slope to the culprit, but when I returned they were gone and then I had to help Slope. I returned to Al´s locket as soon as my canvas caught fire." Snape´s coughs were getting worse.

The headmistress stepped to the fireplace and called for Madame Slope. The school nurse promised to hurry.

"Why didn´t you return to the office?" asked the portrait of Dumbledore. "You know that Minerva needs you!"

"Minerva ordered me to watch over Slytherin. You know very well, Albus, that moving between portraits is exhausting when one of them is damaged and mine is nearly destroyed. The only way for me to follow my orders is to let Al take me to Slytherin house."

"I see your point," admitted the longbearded wizard. He was interrupted by the arrival of the school nurse.

"I´m sorry it took so long," she apologized to her superior. "Jeremia inhaled a lot of smoke and I had to administer the proper potions immediately. Now, what´s wrong with young Mr. Potter?"

"It´s not the boy, it´s Severus." The headmistress pointed at the portrait.

Madame Slope took a big magnifying-glass out of her satchel and looked at Snape. "Kindly cough for me, Sir," she asked and the portrait obeyed. The nurse made the former headmaster cough four times more (three of those times because she couldn´t hear him properly over his colleagues´ suggestions) before she gave her expertise. "It´s the same as with Jeremia. Too much smoke in his lungs. You were a potions master, so you certainly have a portrait that shows you in a lab. Please go there and take a big gulp of Respirobene potion."

"I´m afraid he can´t do that," explained the headmistress and filled Madame Slope in on the nearly destroyed portrait and its consequences.

"In that case," muttered the nurse and rummaged in her satchel. She produced a small pallete and a tiny brush. "Mr. Potter, I need you to kindly hold my magnifying-glass. – Yes, there. Professor Snape, step to the left as far as you can to give me room." Snape obeyed and the nurse started to apply paint to the locket. Al tried to see what she painted and was astonished to see a small vial.

"I think it´s too green for Respirobene," Severus Snape pointed out.

The nurse looked at her work critically. "You´re right." She needed nearly half an hour to get the colour right, in which Snape coughed again and again. Finally she was content and the former headmaster was allowed to take the vial – professor McGonagall spelled the paint dry to speed things up – and swallow a big gulp. The coughs stopped immediately.

The tiny portrait thanked Madame Slope profusely and praised her good work as a potion painter. The nurse left and as soon as the door had closed on her, Dumbledore resumed the conversation they had had earlier.

"Young Albus," he spoke the boy´s name with the fondness of a grandfather, "will need to leave his locket open to give you opportunity to observe. And he´ll need to report back to Minerva."

Several of the other headmasters agreed. Professor McGonagall pointed her wand at Al´s locket and removed its cap. She positioned it on the boy´s robes carefully. "That will do," she smiled, "I´ll put the cap back on when Severus can move freely again."

Al stared down at the locket in horror. "I will not walk around with the portrait of a man on my chest!" he protested.

"Come on, young man," cried a man with a black beard and moustache, "it´s for the good of Slytherin house! You can stand a bit of ridicule on that behalf! Ah, young people! Unwilling to make the smallest of sacrifices!"

Al hung his head, but Severus didn´t agree with the other headmaster. "Now, Phineas," he said, "we all know how readily you make sacrifices for Hogwarts," several of the paintings coughed, "there´s an easy way to make everybody happy. Minerva, why don´t you make a small part of Al´s robes semitransparent. Then I could see, but not be seen."

"Of course," beamed the headmistress and pointed her wand at Al´s chest again. She silently cast a spell and then ordered the small Slytherin to tuck the locket under his robes. Al obeyed. "How many fingers do you see?" she asked holding her hand in front of Al´s chest.

"One," answered the muffled voice of Severus Snape. "And you are aware that this gesture is considered rude in some parts of the world, I guess."

The headmistress withdrew her hand hastily and dismissed Al to return to Slytherin tower. On his way back, the boy pondered that ´Slytherin Tower´ somehow sounded wrong.

-x-

Scorpius returned on Sunday evening with a small album of photographs of his newborn sister and his family.

Druella Narcissa Malfoy was dark where her brother was fair. Her eyes were blue like with most babies, but nevertheless they were darker than Scorpius´. The small tuft of hair was black, only her skin had the typical Malfoy paleness. Although the boys had to rely on Scorpius´ word for that. The girl was crying and red as a lobster in most photos. In fact there was only one in which she looked peaceful. The one in which Scorpius held her.

"Father says they´ll have to take me out of school as I seem the only one to be able to calm her," snickered the small blond.

"They wouldn´t!" cried Vern.

The boys laughed. "No, silly," explained Scorpius teasingly, "if the screaming gets too much they´ll ask a house elf to take her. They won´t take me out of Hogwarts to babysit. Though it feels good to know that she likes me."

"No wonder," laughed Al. "Remember? We were celebrating our victory on the way back to the castle. You must have smelled like a chocolate factory when you came home."

"Your baby sister has a sweet tooth!" laughed Enrico.

Scorpius thought about it, then he jumped up from the armchair he had occupied earlier. "I have to owl Dad!" he cried and off he was.

The other Slytherin second year boys laughed good-naturedly after him. "I just remembered something," said Al and got up, too. He went up to their empty dormitory and took Snape´s portrait out from under his robes.

"Severus," he said excitedly. "You said that you went back to the house for the culprit! Who was it?"

The former headmaster glared at the boy. "This is only for the headmistress to know."

"I´ll bring you to her!" Al cried, agitated.

"No," Snape said sternly. "You know that the locket is spelled that it can´t be removed from your neck and I can´t tell her in your presence. This information is not for student ears."

"But they will escape!" protested the boy.

"No, they will not," insisted the minute painting. "I told the headmistress that I had gone after the culprit, she will hear about it when I can return to her office without your help. She knows that."

-x-

Al tried to talk Snape into telling him what he had seen the day of the fire a few times, but to no success. After a week he gave up and life settled into a routine of lessons, homework and admiring little Druella´s latest photo – the Malfoys sent one daily – during the week and meeting their Gryffindor friends and more photo-admiring on weekends.

Especially Rose and Circe couldn´t look their fill of the tiny baby. Al thought that when you had seen a dozen of photos you definitely didn´t need more, but as Circe stayed near Druella´s album, so did Al. Rose snuggled close to Scorpius to give Circe and Al room to see better and Al wished he could snuggle up to Circe a bit, too, but it felt awkward with knowing that Snape was watching from under Al´s robes. At least Eve seemed to have given up on Al after Snape´s rude words.

Shortly before Easter the Slytherins were able to return to their dungeons. Professor Slope and the prefects had everything perfectly organized. The first years were the first to move downstairs with their belongings, half an hour later the second years and so on. It didn´t take but one Saturday morning to move back to their original house.

When everbody had settled in, the professor called a meeting in the Common Room and they had an impromptu party instead of lunch. Professor Slope had made sure the house elves provided a vast buffet and soon everybody was chewing on their favourite dishes happily. Some fourty minutes later, the professor called for silence and got it. He walked to the fireplace and cast a silent spell. Where an empty piece of wall had been seconds before, a green curtain with embroidered silver snakes popped into existance.

"Boys and girls, Slytherins," said the professor, "we have our house back, which was taken from us by a cowardly attack. There´s only one last thing that needs to be done." He pulled the curtain down in a dramatic gesture to reveal a painting of a chair. "Please welcome back our Slytherin hero, Severus Snape!" The potions master clapped and the students joined in enthusiastically when Severus Snape stepped into the frame, bowed and graceously settled into the chair.

"Thanks for the warm welcome," the painting said with dignity when the applause had died down. "Please don´t interrupt your party on my behalf. This house can do with some celebration."

Snape´s words were followed by another round of cheering. The other Sytherins resumed their party, but all Al could think about was that he was free again. He liked having his namesake around, but not 24 hours a day. Now that Snape had returned to his big frame, Al was free to snuggle up to Circe, sneak into the kitchens to see Reggy, break curfew and any other kind of mischief he could think of.

-x-

Professor Slope sent Al up to the headmistress´ office to get his locket fixed. The boy eyed the portraits of the former headmasters curiously as he approached the elderly witch´s desk. The portraits were feigning sleep again, gone was the anxiety they had displayed the night when they had feared that Severus might have been lost. In fact, the only occupant awake was the former head of Slytherin himself. He winked at his young friend, but nevertheless Al couldn´t help the feeling that Severus wanted him gone and professor McGonagall cast her spell and dismissed him in a hurry, too.

Then Al remembered that Severus still had to give the headmistress an account of what he had seen in the Slytherin Common Room during the fire.

Scorpius, who had waited by the gargoyle guarding the staircase to the headmistress´ office followed Al quietly as the boy passed him by and slid into the next empty classroom.

"They´re talking about what Snape saw at our Common Room the other night," Al blurted out as soon as they had closed the door.

"Argh," hissed Scorpius, "we should have tried to listen in. – Doesn´t your uncle sell some kind of spying device?"

"Extendable ears," sighed Al, "but they´re useless at Hogwarts. Uncle George keeps going on about how the headmistress guarded the Hogwarts door against them. He lost quite an income when she did."

"Didn´t he ever find something to avoid her guarding spells?"

"Not really and he says he spends less time developing since he lost his brilliant other half."

"So spying is useless." Scorpius sounded disappointed.

Al nodded. "I thought that we could go and ask Reggy whether he found out anything." They hadn´t dared to meet the young elf while Severus Snape was hearing and seeing everything Al heard and saw. There was no point in getting into trouble if the headmistress didn´t approve of their investigation or – worse – cause trouble for Reggy.

"Brilliant!" cried Scorpius, "and while we´re there we can ask whether they have some crunchy toffee shortbread."

Al laughed. "I wasn´t aware you had such a sweet tooth!"

"I haven´t," Scorpius pointed indignantly. "Malfoys don´t have such a common thing."

"So what do Malfoys call it?" Al asked curiously.

"A fondness for the products of fine bakery." The blond sneered in a perfect imitation of his grandfather.

"Merlin, one of those days you´re going to get a silver cane," laughed Al.

"I think not. They´re a bit outfashioned."

Laughing and bickering the boys made their way downstairs to the kitchens. Al tickled the pear in the painting and they entered the kitchens. Two elves, whom Al recognized as Happy and Sappy, came to greet them and Al asked politely to speak to Reggy.

"You is Master Albus?" asked one of the two elves.

"I am," the boy confirmed.

"Reggy speaks lovingly of you," said the other elf. "Master follow." The two elf girls went to the back of the kitchen without looking whether the two boys followed them, but of course they did.

Al gasped when he saw Reggy. The young elf was a mess. He sat in front of the fireplace, sipping butterbeer.

"His Mistress forbids Reggy to punish himself when he did wrong," explained one of the elves. "Poor Reggy is very distraught. Elves need to be punished when they do wrong, but Reggy isn´t." Some of the onlooking elves looked at Reggy with disgust, but many eyes shone with pity.

"Reggy!" Al knelt beside the drunk elf. "What happened?"

The young elf looked at the dark haired boy, blinking owlishly. It took him a while to recognize his former master.

"Master Al!" he cried when recognition dawned on his face. He hiccuped. "Reggy is so pleased to see you!" He tried to get up, but didn´t succeed.

Al knelt beside the small elf. "Reggy! Why are you drinking? You never even tried any butterbeer!"

"Mum didn´t approve," the elf stammered.

"So why are you doing it now?"

The elf stared at Al with bloodshot eyes. "Reggy was a bad elf," he stated then.

"You are a good elf, Reggy," Al replied soothingly. He was startled by the clattering of heels on the stone floor.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," the headmistress greeted them earnestly. "I will need a word with this elf." Reggy shuddered and looked up at the witch fearfully. "I suggest you return to your house."

Al looked at the terrified elf. "Ma´am," he said solemnly, "Reggy isn´t at his best at the moment. He knows me from childhood and my presence will comfort him."

"Mr. Potter, I won´t tolerate you breaking curfew," the headmistress glared at the boy.

"Curfew?" Al and Scorpius asked in unison. "It´s barely half past eight!" added Al.

Professor McGonagall smiled, but her eyes were unaffected. "It´s the headmistress´ privilege to set curfew. You are breaking yours. Return to your house. Now."

Al hesitated. Reggy looked so scared. Scorpius grabbed his friend´s sleeve and pulled him towards the kitchen doors. Al fell into a trot beside the blonde. Happy and Sappy met them in front of the door. One of them – Al thought he should try to learn who was who – handed the boys a basket. It was full of biscuits, a peek under the napkin confirmed.

"Thanks for caring for Reggy, masters," the two elves chimed and disapparated with a faint crack.

Scorpius pulled Al into another empty classroom on their way to Slytherin house. They set the biscuit basket on the teacher´s desk and helped themselves to a treat.

"It must have been Reggy who started the fire," said Scorpius after he had swallowed his first bite of walnut biscuit.

"Reggy? You can´t be serious! You know him! He´s the kindest of creatures!"

"I never said he did it of his own free will," the blond pointed out. "Don´t forget that somebody has been imperiussing elves."

Al gasped. "We sent Reggy after Karpov and he made him set fire on Slytherin house? Is that what you say?"

Scorpius rummaged in the basket and held up a piece of crunchy toffee shortbread triumphantly. "That´s what I say."

-x-

The two boys tried to find Reggy again, but it seemed as if he had vanished. The young elf wasn´t in the kitchens and he didn´t come when they called. They even went as far as to observe professor Karpov´s office, but there was no trace of the missing creature. Instead they were caught by the headmistress.

"Mr. Potter," she said sternly, "as much as I understand your curiousity, knowing that it´s hereditary in your family and as much as, I´m sure, your Aunt will appreciate your concern for her house elf, stop this behaviour immediately. Young Reggy has been sent back to his family in order to change his drinking habits. You won´t find him in this castle."

Disappointed, the boys returned to Slytherin house.


	27. Little Druella's big day

"Guess what!" cried Scorpius one week before the Easter holidays started after he had opened his daily update on his little sister.

"Why don´t you tell us? It would be easier," Enrico pointed out between two bites of bacon.

"But less fun," the small blond retorted, waving his letter importantly.

"Druella has sprouted wings." Enrico muttered.

"No, idiot."

"Don´t be a spoilsport," Vern grinned goodnaturedly. "Did she say her first word?"

"No, she´s too little for that!"

Al tried to remember what little sisters did at the age of some weeks, but having been only two years old when Lily was at that stage, he failed. A wild guess it had to be. "Did she turn over?"

"No."

Enrico finally decided to take up the challenge. "Did she eat pizza for the first time? Did she like it?"

"No!"

"Then tell us!" the other three boys chorussed.

"Oh well, you won´t guess it anyway." Scorpius sighed dramatically. "My Dad has asked Al´s Dad to be Druella´s godfather and he agreed!" Scorpius beamed. "It will be as if we are family!"

"Wow!" Enrico was flabbergasted. "Harry Potter´s goddaughter! That´s an honour!"

"Great!" cried Al. "If your baby sister is my Dad´s godchild, what does that make us?" He wiggled his index finger between himself and Scorpius and looked at the boys questioningly.

"Uhm, godcousins?" Vern suggested.

"Ah, I like that," beamed Scorpius. "Godcousins. That sounds good."

Al nodded excitedly. "Godcousins and best friends. That´s nearly as good as brothers."

"You are pathetic," Scorpius´ cousin Myope hissed from a small way down the table.

The small blond grinned at her. "Finally I´ll have a cousin I like," he announced. Myope blushed in anger and the boys had a good laugh.

-x-

"Is it true, Dad?" was the first thing Al asked after greeting his father on platform 9 ¾ a week later. "You´re going to be Druella Malfoy´s godfather?"

"Indeed," laughed Dad. "Mr. Malfoy and I worked together a lot since last year and it turned out we´re a good team."

"The world has to have stopped moving! Somebody help!" laughed Uncle Ron beside them as he took Rose´s bag. "You don´t still have a crush on the Malfoy brat, daughter?" he looked down at the girl sternly.

"I never had a crush on him as you put it," Rose replied, glaring at her father. "He´s my boyfriend."

"You´re too young for a boyfriend!" Uncle Ron stopped dead.

"Nonsense," Rose managed to sound like Auntie Mione. "Mum knew she liked you when she was eleven and I´m twelve."

"Harry!" Uncle Ron squealed helpless.

Dad shrugged. "You know, Ginny knew I was the one at the age of ten. And nobody ever complained."

"But you are not a Malfoy!" Uncle Ron protested weakly.

"Poor Ginny," grinned Dad. "If I was, she could have got money in addition to my good looks."

Uncle Ron slapped Dad´s shoulder playfully and Al made good use of the distraction to wave to Circe, who waved back behind the back of her mother, a tiny blonde witch. James smirked at Al knowingly as he walked towards the barrier beside him.

Dad and Uncle Ron, it turned out, had come in only one car, which meant that the welcome home dinner was going to be at either the Potters´ or Uncle Ron´s house. Al, James and Rose shared the rear seat while Dad and Uncle Ron chatted about Ministry business in low voices in the front.

"I have a feeling that the whole case will be obvious once we have an idea about the motive," Dad mused and settled back comfortably in the passenger seat.

Al was glad when the car didn´t take the exit to the Potter home, but continued to the part of the city where Uncle Ron lived. If he was lucky, he´d be able to see Reggy.

Uncle Ron´s home wasn´t as rugged as the Burrow, but it was surrounded by a garden big enough to give privacy from the neighbours. There were no chicken, but the number of gnomes certainly rivaled Grandpa´s. Mum and Auntie Mione greeted them at the door and all three children were enveloped in hearty hugs. James wriggled free of Mum rather quickly, murmuring something about being too old for that. Mum smiled and gathered Al the closer. "Tell me you will never be too old," she murmured into his mop of black hair.

"I won´t," Al grinned mischieveously. "You can hug and kiss me even at my wedding. As long as you ask the bride first."

Mum giggled and Dad roared with laughter. Al was led into the house with both parents´ arms wrapped around him. "Hey, that permission was for Mum," Al complained and Dad pulled him into an even tighter embrace.

Lily looked up from the game of cards she was playing with Hugo in front of the fireplace. "Hey," she complained. "No family hugs without me!" She dropped her cards and joined her parents and Al.

"James, don´t be a spoilsport!" cried Al. "They´ll crush me if you don´t help!" James grinned lopsidedly and joined the family awkwardly. He was pulled inside the Potter clew and found himself squeezed by four.

"Ah, Al, you´re a wonderful siren," cried Dad. "good job, son, good job!"

They hugged and kissed James until the older Potter brother gave up and hugged back.

"That´s it, son," growled Dad. "You´re never too old to be loved by your family. Remember that!"

"If you´re done embarrassing your children," Uncle Ron stated from the door, "dinner´s ready."

The Potters followed him to the dining room, giggling, and enjoyed a nice dinner of shepherd´s pie and salad, with chocolate cream for dessert. The menu alone was a sure sign that Kreacher had his hand in the matter, although Auntie Mione and Mum carried the dishes from the kitchen to the table.

After every little bit of the chocolate cream had been consumed, Dad and Auntie Mione called for their elves and Kreacher, Winky and Reggy joined the wizards at the table. They sat down a bit reluctantly, but that was no surprise. Al knew that the elves felt uneasy when they were treated as equals too blatantly.

Reggy looked a lot better than when Al had seen him last at Hogwarts. He was sober and the pillow case he was wearing like a skirt was clean and freshly ironed. There were some bruises on his arms. Auntie Mione looked at the young elf sternly. "I may have given you permission to punish yourself, but I never agreed to you being in pain." She got up and went to the chest of drawers. "Apply that now," she ordered when she returned with a small jar of salve.

"Reggy doesn´t deserve Mistress´s good salve," piped the young elf.

"I didn´t ask whether you thought you deserve it. I gave you an order." Al had never heard Auntie Mione sound so strict. Reggy gave in and applied the magical oinment and the bruises healed fast enough to watch.

"Thank you, Mistress. Mistress is too kind," chimed the small elf.

"You will never again question an order," Auntie Mione said sternly. Her kind smile betrayed her true meaning.

"Yes, Mistress," Reggy agreed submissively.

"Now that this has been dealt with," sighed Dad. He glared at Al, James and Rose. "As it hasn´t escaped you, we sent Reggy to Hogwarts to investigate about what is going on there. What we didn´t take into account, was your curiousity." Dad´s eyes fixed on Al. "Did you never think by getting too close to Reggy you were endangering yourself as well as him? What if you blew his cover?"

"Everybody knows Reggy was a Potter elf. Reggy talking to a Potter won´t raise suspicion."

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor, my Slytherin son," growled Dad. "Reggy talking to anybody but a Weasley or more precise, a Weasley from this household, is suspicious! You are no longer his family!"

"Master don´t scold Master Al," cried Kreacher. "It was all Reggy´s fault! Reggy didn´t remember who his Mistress is!"

"Reggy is a bad elf!" the latter cried and banged his head on the top of the table.

Auntie Mione caught the young elf by his neck. "You have no permission to punish yourself now! And you will not take the liberty to determine whether you are a bad elf. This is my decision to make."

"I´m sorry, Mistress," wailed Reggy. "Reggy is a bad elf!"

Auntie Mione shook the small creature. "Reggy is sorry!" the elf wailed even louder. "Reggy is a wonderful elf until Mistress says different!"

"There," growled Auntie Mione, "that wasn´t so difficult, was it?"

Uncle Ron shook his head. "Are we manhandling him into equality now?"

"I´m sorry, if I endangered Reggy. I didn´t mean to." Al looked at his distraught childhood friend.

"There was no real harm done," sighed Dad. "We didn´t find out anything. Unless you can tell us something. Reggy doesn´t remember anything of the day he set fire on Slytherin house." Reggy wailed again at the mention of his crime.

Al bit his lip. Then he decided that it was better to have Dad informed. "We suspected professor Karpov of being behind the attacks," he started.

"We?" Dad asked.

"Me and my friends."

"Why?"

"Because he was mean to all Slytherins."

"That´s hardly a reason to suspect a man of attempted murder, repeated use of unforgivables and arson."

Al swallowed hard.

"Harry, stop being an auror. Remember who you´re talking to." Mum´s voice was gentle and reassuring.

"Sorry," Dad blinked. "A leopard can´t deny his spots, I guess. I´m sorry, son. I didn´t mean to fall into interrogation mode. Continue, please."

Reassured, Al told how they had overheard the professor talk badly about Slytherin and professor Slope.

"Hmmm," said Dad, "a grudge against Slope would be a stronger motive than meanness against Slytherin. All the events show Slope in a bad light, he seems to be an incompetent head of house. Do you have any proof but the conversation you overheard?"

Al wasn´t sure. "Reggy told us that he had to investigate where the imperiussed elves had worked and we told him about our suspicion. He said he was going to take over cleaning the professor´s office and quarter to investigate, but he never told us whether he carried out that plan." He looked at Reggy questioningly.

"Reggy cleaned the professor´s office several times. But he doesn´t remember whether he was there before the fire." The elf hung his ears.

"Do you remember your schedule? Would you have cleaned his office that day if you followed your usual routine?" Dad asked.

Reggy nodded and his ears flapped to and fro. "Reggy cleans the office every Saturday. And the quarters every day while the professor is at class."

Dad smiled coldly. "Wonderful! We have a suspect. Now we need proof."

"How will we get it?" Al asked eagerly.

"WE will do nothing. WE will be a good student and keep our nose out of auror investigations. Is that clear?" Dad stated seriously.

Al nodded obediently. He knew that Dad wasn´t going to tolerate any argument when he used this tone.

-x-

The next day Mum went to Madam Malkin´s with the children.

"You need new dress robes," she stated. "Druella´s naming ceremony is next week and I won´t have you look like we couldn´t afford to dress you properly."

Lily clapped enthusiastically, as always when she had a chance to shop. Al grimaced and James glared at Mum defiantly murmuring "No laces!"

They were greeted by Madam Malkin herself and graciously led to a big changing room. Mum must have talked to the taylor before for two racks of robes waited for them, all of them in various shades of green.

"I will not wear Slytherin colours!" James stated and crossed his arms.

"Nonsense," said Mum matter-of-factly. "Green is the colour which suits me and Lily best and it goes marvellous with your father and brother´s eyes. And you, young man, will look amazing in it." She squeezed James shoulder, which earned her a glare. "We will look like family."

"But Mum," whined James, "green is Slytherin!"

Mum tsked. "Green is the grass, the trees and the lizard I caught in the backyard last week. Green is your grandmother´s favourite cauldron, the chair in Dad´s office and green is your robes."

James admitted defeat and Lily and Al smirked at him. Al went over to the rack and chose a robe. "Here James, this is the right shade for Slytherin," he said teasingly. He hung the robe back quickly when Mum looked at him, murderous.

"Let´s start easy," suggested Madam Malkin. "What about the young lady? You like green, don´t you?"

"I looooove green," singsanged Lily. "I want the green of fresh lime leaves!"

Madam Malkin scanned the rack and finally held out a robe to the girl.

"Oh! That´s marvellous!" Lily hopped up and down. "May I try it on, Mum? May I?"

Mum´s robes were found equally quickly as Lily´s. She chose the same colour and Madam Malkin knew exactly the cutting which Mum prefered as she was a regular customer.

Al chose a darker green for his robes and Mum decided that this colour – exactly that of his eyes – would be ideal for Dad, too.

"Now, dear," she addressed James at last. "Everybody got their robes. It´s your turn now. What about the same colour as Al and Dad?"

"I wouldn´t suggest that, ," said Madam Malkin. "I´d recommend a lighter green with his brown hair and eyes. The dark green would make him look pale."

Mum held Al´s new robes in front of James. "You´re right," she agreed, "this is not his colour."

"I will not wear the same as the girls," hissed James.

Mum and Madam Malkin exchanged knowing glances. "Of course not," smiled the taylor. "But what about this?"

She showed a plain robe, lighter than Al´s, but darker than Lily´s, with embroidered stars in red and gold.

James´ expression improved considerably. "That´s great!" he cried. "There are Gryffindor colours on it!" He had the robes fitted without further argument.

A shop assistant hurried to wrap their purchases at Madam Malkin´s signal and the matron herself ushered the Potter family to the counter.

"My husband will come after work to have his robes fitted," said Mum as she passed Madam Malkin a small leather pouch with Galleons. "And whatever he says, don´t let him buy a different robe," she added in a conspiratory whisper.

"Of course not, Mrs. Potter," the elderly woman whispered back, "and I told you the embroidery was going to do the trick with the boy." She winked.

Mum smirked slyly and Al thought – again – that he had his Slytherin bent definitely from her.

-x-

One week later the Potter family, all dressed festively in green, apparated to the Malfoy´s home. Lily was excited about apparating, as Dad usually prefered the car, but this time Mum had insisted on "arriving in a proper wizarding manner" and Dad had given in. Mum had taken James side-along, while Dad assisted Al and Lily.

They were greeted by a servant in an elegant grey uniform and ushered to the back lawn, where the naming ceremony was to take place. They had barely stepped out of the Manor when they were accosted by the Malfoy men.

Scorpius, dressed in powdery blue silk robes, was the first. He grabbed Al and James´ elbows unceremoniously and pulled them towards a little pavilion.

"You have to see her while she´s still asleep, she´s at her best then," he grinned.

"The boy needs to learn a little more decorum," drawled Lucius Malfoy loudly enough for his grandson to hear.

"Don´t get dirty, son," the younger Mr. Malfoy cried after the boys, "or your mother will kill us both!"

"Don´t worry, Dad," Scorpius cried back over his shoulder. He dragged his friends over to where his mother and grandmother were sitting beside a beautiful crib. Lady Narcissa was sipping champagne.

"This," Scorpius announced proudly, "is my sister, Druella Narcissa Malfoy."

"Which of the three?" asked James before he stepped forward to see the baby. The two Mrs. Malfoys chuckled and Lady Narcissa made a remark about flattering young men.

Al stepped closer to the crib to have a better look after greeting the two women with polite nods. The baby was asleep. Her rosy lips hinted a little smile and her tiny fists rested on the pillow. She wore a white cap with embroidered roses and was covered with a blanket, which was decorated in the same roses as the cap.

"She´s a little beauty!" whispered Al, careful not to wake the baby. "But she has your nose, the poor thing." He grinned at Scorpius teasingly.

"Of course she has my nose," huffed the blond. "It´s the Malfoy nose! Every Malfoy has it."

Al remembered what Scorpius had told him about his grandmother´s hobby. ", did you make Druella´s blanket and cap?"

The Malfoy matriarch nodded gracefully.

"You are an artist, Ma´am." James beamed and Al nodded in agreement.

"Pansy," said Mum from behind Al, "every time I see the little princess, she´s even more beautiful than last time." Lady Narcissa moved a little closer to her daughter in law to give Mum room to sit with them.

"Children," said , "why don´t you go play until the other guests arrive. We have to do some talking to prepare for the ceremony." He conjured some chairs for himself, Dad and his father.

Obediently the children left and the Potter siblings followed Scorpius to the back of the garden.

"Lily, go back," said James. "We won´t babysit you."

"I don´t need a babysitter," cried Lily. "And the adults don´t want me there anyway."

"Okay, then come, but don´t be a pest." James said sternly. "Malfoy, is that a peacock?" He pointed at the bird which had come around one of the diligently cut bushes.

Scorpius blushed and nodded.

"A peacock?" laughed James. "You have peacocks in your garden?"

"Four," admitted Scorpius whose face was crimson by then.

"The others won´t believe it!" cried James.

"You won´t tell them!" Scorpius looked at Al for help.

"This is too good not to tell!"

"He won´t tell," said Al.

"How can you say what I´ll do?" James glared at Al.

"Because you don´t want me to spill any little secret I´ll ever learn about you."

"Hey, I´m your brother! You´re supposed to side with me!"

"And Scorpius is my friend. And he´s yours, by the way. Now stop being an idiot." Al glared back at his brother unblinkingly.

"Okay, okay," James admitted defeat. "Too bad. Peacocks. That´s too good to be true."

"James!"

They had reached another pavilion near a little pond. There was a bench running around a small table and on the table waited lemonade and several decks of cards. "I thought we´d play something," said Scorpius. "I can´t get dirty robes."

The Potter children sat down without argument. "Are you joking?" asked Al. "Mum will roast us alive if we ruin our robes."

They played cards until a servant came to call them for the ceremony.

-x-

The lawn was full of people in festive robes. Al recognized some of them from the newspapers.

"They invited some Ministry people," explained Scorpius. "Grandfather used to have good connections to the Ministry, but most were lost after the War. There are some of Mum and Dad´s school friends, but most are distant relatives. Look, there´s Myope." He waved at his cousin, who waved back half-heartedly.

The Potter children followed Scorpius to the front of the crowd, where the oldest wizard Al had ever seen stood beside little Druella´s crib. The small blond went to join his parents, who were standing there with Dad, Al and his siblings joined Mum, who stood in the front row with Scorpius´ grandparents.

Mr. Malfoy signalled his father and the older wizard pointed his wand at a small silver gong. The instrument produced a bell-like sound and the assembled witches and wizards fell silent and watched as Mrs. Malfoy took the sleeping baby out of the crib.

"We met on this blessed day," said the old wizard ceremoniously, "to name this child, which fate bestowed on Draco and Pansy Malfoy to add to their happiness. Draco, which is the name you and your wife chose for this child?"

"We chose to make her known by the name of Druella Narcissa Malfoy." said solemnly. The man was pride personified.

"Brothers and sisters in magic," cried the old wizard and raised his hands as high as they would go, the sleeves of his silver robes slid down to reveal thin forearms, "welcome Druella Narcissa Malfoy in our midst."

"Druella Narcissa Malfoy!" chorussed the assembled men and women and the air crackled with magic. Al knew that this was all it took for the naming ceremony. The appointment of a guardian was only optional. Scorpius stepped away from his parents and joined his grandparents.

"Did you and your wife chose a guardian to keep watch over your daughter in times when you can´t?" the old wizard asked.

"We did," said Mr. Malfoy. "We chose this wizard." He took a step back to allow Dad to move closer to Mrs. Malfoy and the baby. handed the still sleeping girl to Dad, who accepted the small bundle and smiled down at it.

"Who are you, who was chosen by the parents of Druella Narcissa Malfoy to guard her and protect her?" asked the old wizard.

Al had to supress a grin. Dad was a war hero! The war hero!

"I am Harry James Potter," Dad informed the crowd.

"So, Harry James Potter do you accept the responsibility for this child?"

"I´m honoured by the trust Druella´s parents have in me," answered Dad and bowed to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy.

"Then speak your vow," the old wizard asked.

Dad drew his wand and pointed it at little Druella. "I hereby promise to protect you and provide for you if your parents need me to." A tongue of red magic emerged from the tip of his wand and wound around his hand holding the child and the baby. "I promise to be your shelter in the cold and your well in the desert." Another tongue of magic entwined with the first as Dad spoke the ceremonial words. "And I finally promise to be your father if fate decides to take your family from you." A third tongue of magic completed the spell and stepped forward to seal the vow. Blue sparks rained from his wandtip onto his daughter and as they faded, so did Dad´s tongues of magic.

"It is done!" cried the old wizard and the guests cheered. Druella woke and cried.

"It´s always the same," grinned James. "Once the ceremony´s over they make a racket and the baby joins in."

"Really?" asked Scorpius. "I never was at a naming ceremony before."

James nodded. "Al threw such a tantrum that I still remember it although I was only one. He scared me. And Lily wasn´t much better."

"Were you ever at a naming ceremony?" Scorpius asked Al.

"At least at ten," smiled Al. "You can´t be part of the Weasley clan and not go to at least one a year."

Then the crowd split into smaller groups and servants with trays of champagne and little sandwiches walked to and fro offering small delicacies to the guests. Mrs. Malfoy – Scorpius´ mother – pointed the children to the pond, where little cakes and sweets were served. There were several harmless magical creatures – pygmy puffs, owls, Cheshire cats and vanishing rabbits – to play with and a clown.

Al thought that most of the children present were too old for the animals, but the clown was fun. He showed several muggle tricks and all in all it was a great afternoon.

Al hoped he´d get an opportunity to talk to Scorpius alone, but it seemed not to be meant to be. There were always other children around. The boy thought he should have talked while they had played cards earlier. James certainly wouldn´t have minded being part of their little adventure, but – Al had to admit – involving Lily wouldn´t have been a good idea. Not only that she certainly would run to Mum, but Mum would skin him alive if she learned that her younger son was disobeying.

When the cake had been eaten and the clown had shown every muggle trick he knew, servants showed up in intervalls to take children back to their parents. At last there were only Scorpius and the Potter children who stayed behind.

Snippy, the Malfoys´ house elf came for them. "Master says that young masters and mistress are to come to the house. All the other guests have left."

"Thank you, Snippy," Scorpius said politely and led the way to the Malfoys´ sitting room. The adults were sitting on squashy sofas, sipping tea. Dad held little Druella in his arm and smiled down at the sleeping baby.

"That was quite a tantrum she threw earlier," he said to . "She has a strong voice."

"I don´t know why, but she seems to sincerely dislike cousin Donald," Mrs. Malfoy replied graciously. "This was the second time he tried to hold her and the second time she screamed her lungs out at the prospect."

"Donald has no way with children," said . "Remember? Scorpius disliked him, too, when he was small."

"The man stinks of garlic," muttered Scorpius. "No wonder she cried."

"Scorpius, be nice," Lady Narcissa said sternly.

"He has a point," Lord Lucius pointed out solemnly. "And I still remember the tantrum Draco threw on his naming day when Donald approached."

"Do tell, grandfather!" beamed Scorpius.

glared at this father, but the oldest Malfoy man wasn´t going to miss an opportunity to indulge his grandson. "Your father not only screamed when cousin Donald took him, he tried to kick and hit him! He wasn´t but five weeks old, but he fought nail and tooth. Or rather gums."

Everybody laughed good-naturedly and blushed.

"Cousin Donald dropped him," Lord Lucius continued. "We were so shocked," he took his wife´s hand in his. "But then Draco hovered an inch above the ground and we knew he was as magical as we could hope for. It was a very happy day."

"Wow," said Dad, "you did magic when you were a baby?"

"That´s what they like to think," said . "I still think some guest stopped my fall and when they were beside themselves, he didn´t want to spoil their day."

"Nonsense!" cried Lord Lucius. "You were very gifted!"

"Of course I was very gifted," drawled , "but not THAT gifted." He laughed.

They spent the next hour listening to stories of when everybody had commited their very first magical act. Some of them were fun, like Lady Narcissa summoning a biscuit tin at the age of four or James soaking Uncle George in cold water when the Weasley brothers were fooling around in the three years old´s presence. Other stories were scary as the child in question had done magic when they were afraid of something (Lord Malfoy had summoned his teddy bear at the age of four when he was scared in the dark because a vampire stayed as a guest at his parents´ house) and Dad´s was simply sad (he didn´t know what his very first magical act was because his parents were dead and his relatives didn´t care).

"This is so grievous," said Lady Narcissa and looked at Dad pityingly. "The first magical act is such a sacred event! It should be remembered fondly by the whole family for generations to come. What is the first act you remember?"

Dad thought about it. "The first I remember is turning my teacher´s hair blue. I really didn´t like her."

"No wonder you married into the Weasley family," said and winked at Mum mischieveously.

"Well," smiled Mum, "they told me that you vanquished a Dark Wizard before. I guess that counts as a magical act."

"It does," said Lady Narcissa with dignity, ignoring her husband´s awkward expression. "So at least your descendants will know that you showed first signs of magic exceptionally early. Though probably not as early as my Draco." She smiled at her son lovingly.

Not much later it was time to return home. Al watched out for an opportunity to have a private word with Scorpius to update him about what he had learned about Reggy´s mission, but it didn´t come. It´d have to wait until they returned to school.


	28. Detentions

Al was so impatient about briefing Scorpius on Reggy´s assignment that he didn´t wait until they returned to Hogwarts. Instead he pulled the blond into the toilet on the Express and locked the door.

"What?" protested the boy. He looked at his darkhaired friend as if searching for further signs of madness.

"Sssh!" Al hissed lowly. "Be quiet or they´ll know that we´re in here."

"Maybe someone knowing wouldn´t be a bad thing at all!" Scorpius hissed back, but despite his protest he kept his voice at a whisper.

"I got news!" Al informed his friend.

"I was hoping that you didn´t trap me in here to spend time together."

It was Al´s turn to look bewildered. He shook his head and continued. "Reggy is back home."

This caught Scorpius´ attention immediately. "How is he?" he whispered back urgently.

"Quite well. It was him who set fire on Slytherin, but he doesn´t remember. They´d not have known hadn´t Snape seen him do it. But – " Al paused for dramatic effect and Scorpius rolled his eyes " – as we know that Reggy planned to spy on Karpov, they were able to confirm that Reggy was at Karpov´s office before he commited arson."

"They got Karpov!" Scorpius cried excitedly and Al covered his friend´s mouth with his hand quickly.

"They have not! Reggy´s cleaning schedule is not enough prove. But Karpov is their top suspect now and he will be observed. Dad thinks that he does it because of professor Slope."

"You think it´s about what Karpov wanted but Slope got?" Scorpius asked curiously.

"Not I, Dad! I wish we knew what they were talking about."

The blond nodded. "We can try to find out."

"Dad said we´re to keep our noses out of the Karpov case. It´s too dangerous."

"I never meant to go after a suspect criminal," sneered Scorpius, all the arrogant Malfoy heir all of a sudden, "but not even the head of the auror office can forbid me to be interested in my head of house."

"Hmmm," mused Al, "technically you´re right. He never said to stay away from professor Slope."

"See. Let´s return to the others. Rose will be missing me."

"I don´t want to leave Circe alone too long either," agreed Al. He unlocked the door.

A first year Hufflepuff, who had been waiting to use the toilet, shot them a suspicious gaze. Al and Scorpius ignored him and returned to their compartement quickly.

-x-

One of the prefects came to their compartement shortly before they reached Hogsmeade station and informed the Slytherin second years that they were supposed to stay at the Common Room for a short note after dinner.

Al wondered what it was about all through the journey up to the castle and the welcome back feast. That was why he didn´t object to return to Slytherin house early. He and his dormmates got themselves comfortable seats near the fire and played a game of exploding snap while they waited.

It turned out that the meeting was only for the first to third years. Jonah and one of his fellow prefects called for silence and Jonah spoke to them.

"I called you here to give you a warning," he explained. "The headmistress gave a little speech one evening during the holidays about how important OWLs and NEWTs and their results were not only for the students but also for Hogwarts´ reputation. Although she never said it, it was very clear that she actually addressed Karpov. You all know how he´s been giving the upper years a hard time for months."

The assembled Slytherins nodded.

"If I judge Karpov right," Jonah contiued, "he won´t want to offend his superior. So I guess he´ll leave the older students alone."

"And concentrate on the younger instead," groaned Vern.

"Exactly," sighed Jonah. "There´s not much we can do about it but offer to help with your homework in order to not give him amunition against you. I´m sorry. Try your best and ask for help when you need it."

The younger Slytherins groaned and grumbled, some cursed under their breath, but it was useless. They´d have to try and cope with whatever Karpov dealt out for them.

"Jonah," Al said softly, following his intuition. "Can I have a private word?"

"Of course." Jonah motioned towards the corridor to the seventh year dormitory. "The others are still out."

Al signalled Scorpius to come with them and together the three boys went to Jonah´s room. Somehow Al was surprised that it looked exactly like the second years´. The robes and shoes lying about where bigger and the books more advanced, but that was where the differences ended.

Jonah sat on one of the beds and pointed at the opposite bed invitingly. "What do you want to talk about?"

"We have reason to think that professor Karpov is responsible for the assaults against Slytherin house," Al said without further ado. "And we think that the reason he does it is your father. But we don´t know why exactly. We thought you could help."

"Karpov? Hmmm, Dad seems to mistrust him." Jonah admitted.

Al and Scorpius told the older boy how they had overheard a conversation between the professor and Madam Slope.

"So you think Dad took something Karpov wanted and now Karpov is thwarting Slytherin as a revenge?"

Both second years nodded.

"Hm, I´d have to investigate. Dad never mentioned anything," Jonah mused. "I´ll have to ask Mum. This could take a while."

"Just try to find out. The sooner the better, but better late than never," said Al.

"Okay," Jonah got up and the two younger boys followed his lead. "Thanks for telling me. I´ll let you know what I find out."

-x-

It took less than a week to make Al wish with every fibre of his being that Jonah found out something soon. Something they could give Dad and point the aurors in the right direction. Something to get rid of professor Karpov.

Jonah had been right. Karpov wasn´t willing to offend the headmistress. He took plenty of points from the older Slytherins, but he no longer assigned them detentions. Instead he took it out on the younger years.

Two days after the holidays he kept the Slytherin first year girls in his classroom for more than four hours after the last class and made them clean the room with brushes they had to transfigure from pieces of rubbish – a task nearly impossible to accomplish for a child with less than a year of magical education. By the time they returned to the Common Room it was too late for dinner and all five girls were in tears.

Scorpius found himself with an armful of Myope, patting her back awkwardly. Al dragged Vern and Enrico out to the corridor and to the kitchen to get the girls some food (happily provided by Happy and Sappy) just in time to avoid having a sobbing Eve hanging on his neck.

"That was very good of you," smiled Jonah when the boys returned with a basket full of sandwiches and little cakes. He ushered them to the corner where the girls sat, comforted by a group of fifth year girls.

"Very sly of you to go to the kitchen," hissed Scorpius when Al stood beside him after getting rid of the basket. "I only wished you had taken me with you."

"You seemed so occupied," grinned Al and the small blond slapped his arm playfully.

"At least she´s a relative," Scorpius whined. "I won´t be in trouble with Rosie."

"Rosie?"

"I thought we´d move our relationship to the next level and start using endearments." Scorpius said earnestly.

"Did you call her that to her face?"

"No, not yet."

Al grinned. "Grant me a wish. Let me watch when you use it the first time."

"You mean to tell me she won´t like it?"

"She´ll skin you alive."

"Hmm, thanks for the warning, mate."

"You´re welcome."

-x-

If the Slytherins had thought they had seen professor Karpov´s worst when he reduced the first year girls to tears, they were very much mistaken. The professor spent a double period breathing down Vern´s neck on Friday, reducing the boy to a nervous wreck who couldn´t even achieve the simplest transfigurations. At the end of the lesson the man assigned the shaking Slytherin a detention "for mere incompetence" on Saturday morning.

The other Slytherin second year boys accompanied Vern to the professor´s office after breakfast. Al thought that his cousin looked as if he was walking to his execution. Vern waved at them sadly before he knocked and was asked into the room immediately.

"I guess it makes no sense to wait for him," Scorpius sighed when the door had closed on their friend. "He won´t be back out within the next two or three hours."

The others agreed reluctantly. While Al and Scorpius decided to meet their Gryffindor friends, Enrico went to the library to look for information on Goblin rebellions. He and Vern had meant to write their History essays on Saturday and, as the blond pointed out, if he – Enrico – did a bit of preparatory work, they could finish it in the afternoon.

"We´ll meet here in two and a half hours," suggested Al. "Then we can pick Vern up and go to lunch together."

The others agreed and the boys set off.

"You´re late," James cried when Al and Scorpius walked up to the group of Gryffindors who had already started their weekly game of soccer. "What kept you?"

"Karpov," Al explained. "Vern´s in detention and we saw him up to his office."

"Old Karpov has it in for Slytherin. There were rumours McGonagall stopped him."

"Only partially true," Al sighed. "He leaves the upper years alone, but instead he tortures the younger ones." He told about the first year girls.

"I bet you had Eve sobbing on your shoulder," Circe hissed. "That girl is so annoying!"

"She is, but he escaped." Scorpius reported how Al had slipped out of the Common Room just in time. "I wasn´t so lucky. I had Myope sobbing all over me. – My COUSIN Myope." He added hastily with a side-glance at Rose.

Rose grinned happily – Al wasn´t sure whether about Scorpius comforting a cousin or about Scorpius worrying that she might be cross with him – and pecked the blond on his cheek, which earned them a number of catcalls from the Gryffindor boys.

Scorpius smirked at their friends. "Just keep howling, but don´t forget that Slytherin is were the real men are. That´s why we have your girls. – Ouch!" Rose had slapped his arm.

James laughed good-naturedly. "Let´s resume the game, boys. This Slytherin needs to be tought a lesson."

One and a half hour and a severe drubbing later, Al and Scorpius left their friends to pick up Vern. The Gryffindors felt bad for Vern and asked the boys to greet him.

They met Enrico at the end of the transfiguration corridor and waited.

"Did we miss him?" asked Scorpius after an hour.

Enrico shook his head. "I came back half an hour after he went in. I found a great book at the library and have been sitting here and reading for the last two hours."

"How long?" Al asked what seemed an eternity later. They had even given up chatting. There was only so much dorm mates experienced without the others knowing immediately.

Enrico looked at his watch. "Four and a half hour."

"Poor Vern. That´s a record." Scorpius sighed. "Lunch will be over soon."

"Why don´t you go downstairs and get something for all of us?" Al suggested.

Scorpius returned with a basket of salad, bread and roast beef, and there was still no trace of Vern to be seen.

Another hour later even Enrico, who had insisted to wait for his best friend with the meal, proposed for eating and keeping Vern´s food for him. Scorpius claimed he could no longer sit on the floor started to practice conjuring a chair out of thin air.

"Don´t be ridiculous," whined Enrico. "This is advanced magic. We won´t learn how to do that before our fifth year."

"I watched some of the older students," insisted the smaller blond.

An hour later, they all sat on cushioned wooden chairs, courtesy to one Scorpius Malfoy.

"That´s it," said Al when they heard the first clattering of dishes from the Great Hall. Dinner was served. "I´m going to professor Slope. You stay here and watch out for Vern." He hurried down to the dungeons, past the Great Hall, where wafts of delicious odours reminded him how hungry he was. He just hoped the professor was at his office.

He was not. Al knocked thrice, to no result.

"Are you looking for professor Slope?" asked Myope who passed him on her way back to the house after dinner. "He´s at dinner."

Al murmured a quick thanks and rushed back upstairs. Professor Slope sat at the head table, absorbed in a conversation with the headmistress. Al knew it was bad manners to interrupt them, but, he decided, this came close enough to an emergency to forget manners. The headmistress – auntie Minerva in private – was certainly going to forgive him.

"Professor Slope," he said politely, but urgently as he stepped up to the head table. "May I have a word, please."

"What is it, Potter?"

"It´s Vern, Sir. He´s serving detention with professor Karpov. He´s been there since after breakfast. We´re concerned."

"Since after breakfast? Are you sure, Potter?" The professor looked doubtful.

Al nodded. "We practically camped in front of the professor´s door."

"Now he´s going too far." Professor Slope jumped to his feet, sending his goblet flying.

"I´ll come with you, Jeremia." The headmistress rose as well.

The two teachers rushed up the stairs, Al in tow. "You wait here, boys," ordered professor McGonagall when they reached Scorpius and Enrico.

The two teachers went up to professor Karpov´s door and were bid inside shortly after their knock.

The door was opened again five minutes later and out of the office stepped professors McGonagall and Slope with a sobbing Vern between them. The boys rushed to them immediately when they caught sight of their friend.

", ," said professor Slope, he had one of his arms wrapped around Vern´s shoulders, "please run ahead and ask Madame Slope to prepare pepper-up potion, a light meal and dreamless sleep draught."

-x-

The nurse had to add some calming draught to the mixture. Vern was sobbing so hard, he couldn´t eat or drink.

"I won´t stay here!" he snivelled. "I want to go home!"

"Calm down, ," Madame Slope said soothingly. "You´ll see, everything will be all right by tomorrow. Now do me a favour and try a bite of this sandwich. Or do you prefer some cake?"

After a while the nurse sent the other boys back to their house. "It´s embarrassing for him, his friends seeing him in such a state," she explained. "You may come back tomorrow morning. You can have breakfast with him."

Enrico was very reluctant to leave his best friend´s side, but at last he obeyed. On their way down to Slytherin house they agreed to keep what had happened to themselves. It was Vern´s story to tell and the house was going to hear it soon enough.

-x-

"I won´t go to his classroom ever again," Vern said stubbornly as they sat around his bed in the infirmary and had breakfast. The dreamless sleep potion had done him good, he looked like always but for a bitter streak around his mouth. "He made me transfigure stones into buttons. Said I wasn´t good for anything else. He had a whole barrel of them. Tiny little pebbles, rather grains of sand than stones. I must have used that spell ten thousand times." His eyes shone with tears at the memory. "I was so hungry and I needed to go to the loo, but he wouldn´t let me!"

The boys spent half an hour abusing the professor before they left the hospital wing. Madame Slope had given Vern clearance to leave as soon as he felt ready to face the rest of the school and the boy thought delaying it wasn´t going to help.

"Vern!" cried Adam as they entered the Common Room. "There were rumours you were ill! Are you okay?"

The second year nodded earnestly. "I´m alright now." Then he sat in one of the armchairs and told a dumbfounded house what had happened yesterday.

Slytherin house was in a turmoil. Shouts of "How dare he!" "That evil cockroach!" and "One of these days he´ll get the Unforgivable he deserves!" were heard.

Vern spent the rest of Sunday in his armchair for the house had decided that he deserved to be utterly pampered. His meals were brought to him and his friends stayed to play games (thus abandoning their homework). By nightfall they had convinced Vern that he had to stay at Hogwarts and that professor Karpov wouldn´t dare be so mean again. For the last the arrival of Jonah was of great help.

"Dad is livid. It seems he wanted the headmistress to fire Karpov, but she refused with the OWLs and NEWTs right around the corner. She had a talk with the git though. I guess we´re safe from Karpov," Jonah said when he saw that Vern was still anxious.

Barely a week later it turned out that the headmistress putting the transfiguration teacher in his place had been wishful thinking. Al and his friends had just settled down in their usual seats and were still rummaging in their bags for their textbooks and homework, when the professor approached Vern.

"Well, Parker," he said maliciously, "I do hope that my extra tuition caused some improvement, not that I have much hope."

Vern shook with fear.

"Show me your homework." The teacher dropped a feather on Vern´s desk. "Turn it into a fork."

Vern said his spell and pointed his wand at the feather, but seeing how he was shaking it came to no surprise that the feather remained exactly this, a feather.

"Again," the professor ordered.

Vern did his best, but to no success at all.

"Parker, Parker, what am I to do with you?" the professor mused. "I´ll generously grant you another attempt, but I fear it will only prove that you were lazy and didn´t practice."

"Sir," Al spoke up, "he did practice. He worked with me."

"I didn´t ask you, Potter. Now do that spell again, Parker." The professor moved in on his prey. By now, he was practically breathing down Vern´s neck. The boy´s eyes glistened with tears.

"Leave him alone!" Al cried. "Just take some points for not doing his homework and leave him alone!"

Professor Karpov turned on the spot and glared at Al. "I guess we have another volunteer. Thirty points from Slytherin for inaptitude, Parker." He levitated the feather to Al´s desk. "A fork, Potter."

Al said the incantation and waved his wand. The feather transformed into a fork obediently.

"Now, Potter, let´s have something less plain," the professor demanded.

Al obeyed. The fork´s handle changed into a small paddle with ornate flowery patterns and a gold rim.

"Not very elegant," sneered professor Karpov.

"For your information," hissed Scorpius, standing up for his friend, "this is an exact copy of the cuttlery the Ministry of Magic uses for official receptions."

"And you would know that because?" asked Karpov.

"My Dad knows a ministry official." Scorpius was too Slytherin to tell their suspect that said official was the Head of the Auror Office and Al´s father.

"Potter, ten points for bad taste and Malfoy, ten for speaking up unasked."

"Who cares," growled Al.

"Detention, Potter. Today after your last lesson, my office."

"What will you let him do, seeing that he knows how to use his wand?" hissed Scorpius.

"You may join him, Malfoy," smirked the teacher. "In order to find out."

Scorpius looked strangely smug all lesson. "I couldn´t let him get you alone," he pointed out when Al asked on their way to the greenhouses. "Remember what he did to Vern. I guess he will be more careful when we´re two."

Al gulped. "Thank you," he whispered.

-x-

Herbology didn´t last long enough for Al this day and for once even History of Magic seemed to fly by.

"We´ll keep you dinner," promised Enrico. Al nodded with a foreboding of doom. Vern looked miserable. "It should be me," he said in a small voice as he took Al and Scorpius´ bookbags to take them back to Slytherin house.

"Nonsense," said Al with an air of confidence he didn´t really feel. "Scorpius and I are better at Transfiguration than you. It won´t be so bad for us."

"I´ll go to professor Slope if you aren´t back by eight thirty," promised Vern as the two boys marched up the stairs to the transfiguration corridor.

Professor Karpov looked up and down the corridor as he let them in a little later. "What, no escort?" he asked scoffingly.

"Do we need one?" Al asked before he was stopped by Scorpius elbowing him. Sometimes he was more Gryffindor than was good for him.

The professor smirked, but didn´t grace him with an answer. Instead he waved at an empty desk in a corner of his office. "You will transfigure shards into new cups. Of course," he grinned maliciously, "you´ll have to conjure the shards first. You are aware that I have to fit the assignment to the culprit´s talent, aren´t you." The man made a pause for dramatic effect. "You may of course look up the appropriate spells." He thrust an ancient tome into Al´s hands.

Al felt desperate. Not only did they need to master a new spell, they had to search for it in the thickest book Al had ever seen! He was startled out of his despair by Scorpius´ cool voice.

"How many cups, Sir?"

"Let´s make it a hundred." Karpov´s eyes shone with malice.

"All right," Scorpius drew his wand. "I´ll do the conjuring and you the transfiguration, Al. Any preferences for a certain pattern, Sir?"

"It´s a good thing you ask, ," the professor smiled coldly. He conjured a cup with a delicate gold pattern. "Make it like this."

Scorpius looked at the cup. "A good choice, Sir. It´s beautiful. Ready, Al?" the blond sneered.

Al nodded. "Go ahead."

Scorpius waved his wand and a shard of pottery appeared on the table. "It would be easier to conjure the cups," he mused, "but having Al Potter making cups has a certain air of irony I can appreciate." He waved his wand again and the next shard popped into existence.

Al smiled. Maybe their task wasn´t that bad. He pointed his wand at the first shard and muttered his incantation. Obediently the shard transformed. "Does this meet your expectations, Sir?" he asked politely.

"It will do," growled the professor. He obviously was not happy about this development, but he had set the assignment and seemed to have objections to changing the task.

Al and Scorpius worked in silence, while the professor sat at his desk and started to read a stack of homework. Some five minutes later, Al was elbowed again. He looked at his blond friend questioningly and Scorpius wiggled his hand a bit.

Al was puzzled and then he saw it! Scorpius´ dark detector ring, which the Slytherin second years were using as friendship rings, was glowing. Al looked at his own. The stone was bright red!

Al clutched his chest and opened his locket under his robes. "Vocate!" he murmured under his breath. He just hoped that Severus wasn´t too busy to come. If professor Karpov had a dark magical object in his office, Al wouldn´t want to face him alone.

After some minutes Al held his ring up to his chest for Severus to see, if he was there. He repeated the movement from time to time until at last, the locket warmed against his skin. Severus had seen and understood.

"What´s this?"

Professor Karpov grabbed Al´s arm and forced him to show the ring. "What´s this?" he repeated more demanding when Al didn´t answer at once.

"Friendship rings, Sir," said Scorpius and showed his. "Many Slytherins have them."

"Why are they glowing?" The wizard tightened his hold on Al´s arm.

"The glow shows that the others are thinking about us," piped Al. "For moral support."

"Don´t you lie to me!" Karpov let go of Al´s arm and shoved him away. Al tumbled back and into Scorpius. Several of the new cups fell to the floor and smashed.

"It´s true!" cried Scorpius and helped Al to regain his balance. "All our dorm has them!"

"Then why didn´t I notice one of those rings on ?"

Al and Scorpius were taken aback. "He has one," Al insisted.

The argument was interrupted by the door being forced open by a mighty spell. Professors Slope, Flitwick and McGonagall rushed into the room, their wands drawn.

"Come over here, boys."

The two boys hurried to obey their head of house.

"What´s the meaning of this?" asked professor Karpov, garing daggers at his three colleagues.

"I was notified of Dark Magic in this office," the headmistress informed him. Once the boys were out of reach of professor Karpov, she stepped aside to let Dad and two wizards wearing Ministry badges pass.

"You have the right to keep your silence until a judge examined your case and determined which means are appropriate for questioning. Until then you will stay in Ministry custody." Dad pointed his wand at professor Karpov. The two men who had come with him cast spells to take the professor´s wand and prevent flight. "Waterly, take him to the corridor. Purrham, you´re responsible for the boys."

The wizard called Purrham shooed the boys to a wall of the office and stood in front of them to protect them with his life if need be. Al and Scorpius peeked at the room from behind his back.

Dad cast a spell and for a moment the whole room lit up in a soft greenish shimmer but a spare inkwell on the desk, which shone bright red.

"Here it is," said Dad.

"What is it?" the three Hogwarts professors asked curiously.

"I don´t know," admitted Dad, "don´t touch it until we find out more."

"It won´t be dangerous for you," came a muffled voice from under Al´s robes. The boy rummaged for his locket. "Thank you, that´s better," Severus sounded relieved once he lay on top of Al´s robes. "It´s a Hypnotonium. It works only on elves. They were considered legend for a very long time. Voldemort owned one, but it was lost after his defeat at Godric´s Hollow."

"What does a Hypnotonium do?" Al asked and the adults looked glad one of the children had done so.

"It puts house elves in a state similar to hypnosis. While under the influence of the Hypnotonium, an elf will forget his vows and his loyalties, he will do whatever the master of the Hypnotonium asks of him."

"Merlin!" cried the headmistress. "Supposing he had turned our Hogwarts elves into an army! This item is dangerous!"

"It is," confirmed Severus, "that´s why it´s considered dark. It would make a wizard´s most trusted servant a deadly weapon against him. It´s even worse than the Imperius course."

"Where did Karpov get it? And what did he do with it?"

"I can´t tell about the first question, but the answer to the second is quite obvious," said professor Slope. "He used it to ruin Slytherin House. Just think of what happened to us since last September!"

The headmistress nodded. "If it turns out that he really saboutaged your house, you will of course get all the points he took back."

Al and Scorpius looked at each other and cheered. If the headmistress was indeed going to give them their points back, Slytherin was likely to win the House Cup with a record lead. Not only had the Slytherins worked extra hard to make up for professor Karpov´s unjust behaviour, the other teachers had been especially lenient with the house of Slytherin as soon as they had learned about their colleague´s vendetta against the proud house of the snakes.

Dad conjured a box for the Hynotonium and handed it to Purrham. "I´ll take the boys from here on. Bring this and Karpov to the office, I´ll be there in a minute."

The headmistress made one of Al´s cups a portkey for the aurors. Dad thanked her and then shooed the boys towards the hospital wing.

"Dad!" whined Al, "we´re perfectly okay! We don´t need the nurse!"

Scorpius seconded Al´s pleading. "Sir!" he pointed out, "you´re costing us an opportunity to inform the house of what happened."

"You mean you want to brag," said Dad and ruffled the boys´ hair up. Both ducked away from under his hands, but Al couldn´t help a feeling of comfort. He was safe when Dad was here.

"Why not," asked Scorpius with dignity. "This little adventure could strenghten our social position within the house. Most will be impressed that we met the aurors who took away Karpov!"

"You can return to the house when I know for sure that you´re unhurt. Your mother´d kill me if I went home without checking."

Al smiled. "I guess we have to oblige, Scorp."

"Wouldn´t want to take the wizarding hero´s death on our conscience," agreed the blond.

Dad laughed and opened the infirmary doors for the boys.

-x-

Madam Slope declared the boys healthy and unhurt after some diagnostic spells. Dad ran some spells himself to make sure that Karpov hadn´t secretly cursed his son and Scorpius. Severus Snape was asked whether he had seen anything out of the ordinary. The former headmaster denied having witnessed anything suspicious, but suggested some dark detecting spells himself. At last the two Slytherins were sent back to their house and Dad returned to his office to take care of Karpov and his Hypnotonium.

"You´re back!" cried Enrico and Vern when the two other second year boys entered the Common Room. "How did you get off so early?"

It was only then that Al and Scorpius understood that the house had no idea that Karpov was gone. They smirked at each other and went up to the fireplace.

"Listen, everybody!" cried Scorpius. The Slytherins obeyed at once and Al once more admired his friend´s skills. He doubted that he´d be able to put so much power into his voice. The Slytherins gathered around their two housemates. Scorpius hinted a bow at Al and made a dramatic gesture with his arm. "Tell them!" he said in a hushed voice.

Al grinned. He looked over the small crowd.

"Karpov is gone."

Al´s simple statement caused havoc in Slytherin. The students cheered and hopped and some even danced. The racket lasted for more than ten minutes until everybody had calmed down.

"How?" asked Jonah at last.

Al and Scorpius told what had happened in turns. Scorpius had to show how he had conjured shards of pottery and Al demonstrated the transfiguration he had been made do. The Slytherins were a wonderful audience. They gasped at the right moments and cheered when the professor was finally taken away by the aurors.

"May he rot in Azkaban!" cried Myope and everybody clapped.

"I guess he will," said Jonah. "He tried to kill Aurora!"

"Serve him right!" cried several of the students.

"I wonder why he did it," mused Al, but the question remained unanswered.

-x-

The second years were just getting ready for bed when there was a knock at the door and Jonah slipped into the dormitory.

"I didn´t want the whole house to know," he said, "but I found out why Karpov did all those dreadful things. I guess you deserve to know."

The boys waited patiently for the older boy to continue.

"Whatever you tell us will remain between the five of us," Al said at last.

Jonah nodded contently. "My Mum told me only this morning that her parents had sent her to live with her aunt in Russia during the Evil Wizard´s first reign. She attended Durmstrang, not Hogwarts. Karpov was in her year. He courted her, but she wasn´t interested. In her seventh year Dad came to Durmstrang as an exchange student and she was very interested. Karpov never acknowledged that she chose Dad. He thought Dad had stolen her from him."

"And he came here to get revenge," whispered Scorpius.

Jonah nodded with a sigh. "He wanted to ruin Dad´s reputation and he was ready to use Dad´s students for his plans." The seventh year snorted. "As if Mum cared." He left the room rather quickly and the younger boys were very quiet for the rest of the evening.

-x-

The rest of the school year was rather uneventful apart from Al and Scorpius having to retell their stories dozens of times. Even the end of the year exams had lost their horror as they were no longer new for the boys. They passed in a blur and then Al and James sat in the back of Dad´s car and listened to Lily rambling about how she was going to finally go to Hogwarts with them after the summer.

THE END...

...of Al´s second school year.

Author's note: Did I ever mention that I appreciate reviews?


	29. Summer holidays

**Interlude: Summer Holidays**

Gran Molly´s house, the burrow, was buzzing with people preparing what had to be one of the legendary Weasley parties. There were several banners in the garden. One said "Welcome back, kids!" and another "Congratulations, Teddy!".

So, Al mused, this was the welcome home party for all the Weasley children. But what was this about Teddy? The boy went to the kitchen to greet his grandmother.

"Al!" Gran Molly cried delightedly. "So good to have you back home, dear!" She hugged the boy and ruffled up his hair. "You seem to have inherited your Dad´s talent to find trouble, eh?" She laughed. "Well done, my dear, well done. But try to have a peaceful year at Hogwarts next year."

Al laughed. "I swear I didn´t ask for the trouble, Gran!" He returned the hug and reveled in the unique smell of cooking and flowers that was his grandmother. "So, what about Teddy? I saw the banner."

"Ah! Help me with the sandwiches and I´ll tell you." Gran Molly winked.

Al started to put slices of sausage and cheese on bread while Gran Molly decorated the sandwiches with slices of tomatoes and cucumber.

"Teddy got an apprenticeship at ´s. Our little Teddy´s going to be a healer. I think," the witch whispered with a broad grin, "that your uncle Bill will finally allow him to go out with Victoire officially."

Al laughed. "I guess Victoire having graduated will help, too."

Gran Molly joined Al´s laughter.

"Granny!" An outcry of joy interrupted their conversation. Lily had come to the kitchen to join them.

Gran Molly dropped the cucumber slices she was holding and hurried to the door to greet Lily. "Lily, my girl!" she hugged the girl. Everybody knew and accepted that Lily was Gran Molly´s favourite grandchild. It wasn´t as if anybody was withheld the Weasley matriarch´s affection because of this. Uncle Ron said it had to do with Mum being Gran´s only girl and Lily being Mum´s only girl.

"I made treacle tarte," whispered Gran Molly into Lily´s hair and the girl clapped her hands exitedly. Then Gran winked at Al. "And chocolate cake."

Al was quite sure there was also strawberry cake for James and banana bread for Rose and Hugo.

-x-

The party lasted late into the night. Al ate more cake than he had thought possible. The garden was crowded with Weasleys and everybody was having a great time.

Uncle Bill was overheard growling "Go out, I said, boy, not snog publicly!" at Teddy.

Auntie Mione informed everybody that the ministry had flooded part of the atrium in order to make it easier for merpeople to come to the building. Everybody had a good laugh when Uncle Ron added that he had nearly drowned when he had apparated to work that day, because he had forgotten about the change. Going by his blush, Dad had taken a bath, too.

Mum informed everybody that she had been asked to go on a charity tour with her old team and that she had decided to oblige as the money was going to be used for orphans.

"That means it will be just us for three weeks, children," Dad winked at the younger Potters.

"Can´t we go watch Mum?" James pouted.

"No," Mum said sternly. "you know quite well that I don´t like you watching me play in a pro match."

"Why´s that, dear?" asked Gran.

"I´m always careful to not scare them," sighed Mum.

The party ended when Uncle George demonstrated his new instant thunderstorm powder. Uncle Charlie insisted on Uncle George standing by the fireplace when everybody flooed home.

"Come on, don´t be shy!" growled the dragon keeper. "Slap the idiot! Merlin knows he deserves it!"

His brothers were the only ones to make use of the offer, but Uncle George grinned like a fool all the time, so Al guessed they didn´t really slap him hard.

-x-

Mum had to leave three days after her sons had returned home. Dad informed them that he had a whole week off to spend with his children. "Then," he continued casually, "I´ll tip you off at the Malfoys´ for a week and then Uncle Bill´s. When Mum´s back I have another week off and we´ll go on a holiday."

Al was gobsmacked. The Malfoys´? Uncle Bill´s, okay, he had expected something like that. Dad was Head of the Auror Office and he couldn´t take three weeks off . The Potter children, like all Weasleys, were used to spending time with other members of the clan, but the Malfoys´? Now, that was going to be interesting.

" offered to take you for a week," Dad explained. "It seems he thinks Scorpius will be a bit bored with no friends around all the holidays. But first you´ll have to put up with your old father for a week."

And what a week it was! Dad took them shopping – not clothes, but real shopping, at quidditch and jokes shops. Al got a new set of gobstones. James chose new quidditch gloves and Lily got her first ever brandnew broomstick.

"You know you aren´t allowed to take it to Hogwarts," Dad pointed out to the girl.

Lily shrugged. "I can use it all summer and during the holidays. And I can take it to Hogwarts next year."

One day they went to a magical farm near Manchester. There were hippogryffs and nifflers, kneazles and bowtruckles and small badger-like creatures, which – according to Dad – were able to show a safe way through redcap land. Gnucks, Dad called them.

They went from pen to pen. James was proud that he was able to explain some of the creatures.

"Will you chose Care of Magical Creatures, too, little bro´?" James asked on their way to a pond full of magical frogs.

"I´m not sure," admitted Al. "Last year was so busy, I never had time to talk about it with my friends."

"We had to choose at the end of our second year," said Dad. "I think it´s reasonable to give you time to speak with your parents about the topic. I chose what my best friend chose. It wasn´t really the best choice to make."

"So what do you recommend, Dad?" Al asked curiously.

"Well, it depends on what choice of career you´re considering. Have you given it any thought?"

Al was about to answer when Lily chimed in. "Can´t you talk about that after you sent me to bed? I want to see the frogs!"

The rest of the afternoon was spent discussing the frogs in the pond. James tried to convince Lily that they were cursed princes and that she had to kiss them to lift the curse.

"I´m not a baby!" raged Lily. "I know the difference between magic and muggle fairy tales!"

James laughed. Al and Lily joined in and Dad lectured them on the use of magical frogs in potioneering.

-x-

After dinner – Kreacher had made Dad´s favourite shepherd´s pie – Lily volunteered to be tucked in by Winky to "let Al find out what he wanted to be".

James announced that hearing the lecture once was enough and retreated to his room to read up on hippogryffs.

"So," said Dad when they were seated comfortably on the sofa, "tell me, son, what do you want to be."

"I´m not sure," admitted Al. "I thought about it, but I´m not decided. There are several things that might interest me, but I don´t know enough about them to be sure."

"What are your options?"

"Hm, I like quidditch, but being a pro player isn´t what I want. I think I´d like to make racing brooms. But I also like potions. Maybe I could become a potions master. I´d like to make all that healing stuff. Or..." Al didn´t continue. The idea alone was ridiculous.

"Or...?" Dad asked.

"Nothing." Al didn´t even dare speak of the idea.

"Al, you know that I and your mother, your whole family in fact, will support you in anything you want to do as long as it´s legal. But to get our support you´ll have to tell us what you want and need."

Al bit his lip. Could he tell? At last he decided to, for if he couldn´t tell Dad, who else could he? "I´d like to be a wandmaker."

"A wandmaker?"

Al was glad Dad wasn´t laughing.

"I know it´s a crazy idea."

"Not at all. It may be difficult to find a master to apprentice with, but if you want to try it, I´ll help you."

"I´m not sure I want to. It´s just an idea."

Dad nodded. "Any more ideas?"

Al shook his head.

Dad rummaged in his pocket until he found a small booklet. "Then let´s look what they recommend."

The booklet turned out to be a ministry guide on which OWLs and NEWTs were required for which careers.

It turned out that for potioneering, broomcraft and wandmaking Care of Magical Creatures was recommended, as well as Ancient Runes.

"You´re lucky," smiled Dad. "All your options require the same subjects. You might want to consider taking Arithmancy, too. It´s quite handy in everyday life. I really think that it should be made a compulsary course, but Minerva won´t have it."

"Why´s that?" asked Al.

Dad shrugged. "Tradition, I think. It´s one of the most difficult subjects and she thinks the number of graduates would decrease if students weren´t allowed to avoid it. Not all witches and wizards are good with numbers."

-x-

The week with Dad ended too soon for Al´s taste. The only good thing was that he was going to spend the next week with his best friend and dorm mate, Scorpius Malfoy. The boys´ friendship had led to friendship between their families, which had culminated in Dad becoming little Druella Malfoy´s godfather earlier that year.

Kreacher helped Al pack a bag on Sunday evening and just before dinner they flooed to Malfoy Manor. They were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy and – of course – Scorpius.

The Malfoys led the way upstairs to show Dad where his children were going to stay. The first room they went to was a neat small bedroom for Lily. The girl dropped her bag on the bed and followed her father and brothers to see where the boys were going to stay.

"Scorpius insisted the boys share with him. If you aren´t okay with that, it can be changed of course," Mr. Malfoy informed Dad.

Al hoped that Dad wasn´t going to object. He had seen Scorpius´ room before and staying there was going to be fun.

James´ jaw dropped when he saw the blond boy´s room. It was bigger than the Potters´ house. Al and Scorpius had indeed flown in there when Al had visisted the blond during their first year. The bed stood at the far side of the room. Two smaller beds (still larger than Al´s bed at home) had been added between Scorpius´ bed and the window.

"What do you think, boys?" asked Dad. "Would you like to share?"

Both his sons confirmed eagerly and Lily pouted because she had gotten her own room.

-x-

After an excellent meal of chicken and rice Dad took his leave. On his way to the floo he informed his sons and once again how to reach him in case of an emergency. reassured him that he was quite capable of looking after a bunch of kids.

"How come your father is at home all the time?" asked James when the boys had retired to their room.

Scorpius blushed. "The name of Malfoy isn´t as highly esteemed as it was before the war."

James nodded. "Your folks faught for the other side."

The blond boy agreed, blushing even more. "Dad says he earns more money if he limits his activities to being a silent stock holder. He invests our money in businesses, but never works there himself."

"People wouldn´t go to a shop with the Malfoy name above the entrance," mused James.

"Exactly," agreed Scorpius, "but Dad says, it´s not fit for Malfoys to get their hands dirty anyway. Our family has made money as silent partners for centuries. – So what about a game of gobstones?"

They played for nearly an hour. Then Mr. Malfoy came and demanded they retire.

-x-

Mr. Malfoy went out of his way to keep the children entertained. He took them to the seaside, provided m-onkeys (magical donkeys, not to be mixed up with muggle monkeys;) for rides in the park – Lily flattened the boys in every race – and spent hours answering the children´s questions about magical items. Mrs. Malfoy sat with them as often as possible, but she was quite occupied with little Druella most of the time.

Lily was allowed to help feed the baby and she liked it a lot. She even forewent quidditch to stay with the baby.

The boys asked to play with them and Scorpius beamed when his father obliged. They played a two on two match, Potter versus Malfoy.

"Listen," said James when the brothers held a tactical discussion, "it will be hard for us, with Scorpius having an adult partner. But I think we can use this to our advantage. won´t want to face any of us in a direct fight, so I guess he´ll rather play seeker than chaser."

Al smirked in understanding. "If I´m our seeker, I can outdo him in speed as I´m lighter and you, being heavier than Scorpius, have an advantage as a chaser. Good thinking, brother."

James grinned. "Let´s show them how to play!"

The match was fierce and in the end the Potter brothers won by a narrow margin. On their way inside Scorpius nagged at his father that he should have knocked Al off his broom, but nobody took him serious.

One day was spent with Lord and Lady Malfoy, Scorpius´ grandparents. Lord Lucius took them all to a wizarding restaurant in Scotland. After the meal they went on a boat trip on the nearby lake, where they saw the giant sea snake which lived in the lake. Lady Malfoy told them the story how the sea snake had been taken to the lake by a young wizard to impress his girl friend some centuries ago.

-x-

Uncle Bill took his family and the Potter children to Ireland. They stayed at a magical inn at Glendalough, one of the most magical places of Ireland. The area had been used by muggle monks in the Early Middle Ages and thus lots of muggle tourists were nearby, but the wizarding resort was protected by spells and the muggles never noticed there was more than a boring miner´s village at the shores of the Upper Lake.

Uncle Bill showed them a place near the famous round tower where he and his partner had found a treasure some years ago. He described the curses and spells that had protected the treasure in detail for his eldest, Victoire, wanted to be a cursebreaker like her father.

After an exciting week of treasure hunting they returned to the Burrow, where Mum and Dad were already waiting for their children.

"I hope those three weren´t giving you trouble," said Dad as he shook Uncle Bill and Auntie Fleur´s hands.

"Not at all, ´Arry!" Auntie Fleur reassured him. "They were really lovely to be with! Your children are so well behaved, Ginny!"

"How was your charity tour, little sis?" asked Uncle Bill.

Mum told them everything about seeing her old team mates and how they had played a total of five matches and won four. Al thought Mum must be missing her quidditch career a lot, for her face was glowing with enthusiasm while she spoke about the tour.

-x-

The next weeks were used for relaxation. When August neared its end, Dad took the family to Diagon Alley. They met Uncle Ron and Auntie Mione with Rose and Hugo at the Leaky Cauldron. Hugo was jealous of Lily´s Hogwarts letter, but his parents soothed him that it would be his turn soon enough.

The first thing for them to get were robes and books, then potion ingredients, quills and parchment.

"Lily needs a wand," said Dad when they had everything.

"How about you go to Olivander´s with her and we wait for you at the Leaky Cauldron?" suggested Uncle Ron.

Everybody agreed, but Dad insisted Al came with him and Lily.

Lily was glad one of her big brothers went with them. She chatted nervously all the way down to the wandmaker´s shop.

"Ah, Miss Potter!" greeted Lily, ignoring her father and brother first. "Welcome!"

"Good afternoon, ," Dad made himself noticed.

"Mister Potter! Holly and phoenix feather, 11 inches. Very unusual." shook Dad´s hand. "Oh, and the young Mister Potter! Birch and dragon heartstring, 12 inches. Nice for charms and potions." The wandmaker shook Al´s hand, too.

"My daughter here needs a wand," said Dad, "and my son would like some advice on how to become a wandmaker."

"A wandmaker? Aaah!" moved closer to Al and scrutinized him as if he saw him for the first time in his life. "A wandmaker needs a special gift! You have to be able to feel which wand would be right for a wizard or witch. Let´s try! Which wand do you suggest for your sister, ?"

Al was taken aback. He was supposed to say which wand was right for his sister? And what about that talk about a special gift? Al himself had had to try more than a dozen of wands before he found the right one!

"Don´t be afraid, . Look at your sister and picture her with a wand. What do you suggest?"

Al did as told. "Unicorn hair and a reddish wood. Alder maybe."

"Is it a long or a short wand?" asked .

"Rather short."

nodded. "Let´s try." He rummaged on his storeboards and handed Lily a short reddish wand. "Try this Miss Potter. Alder with unicorn hair. Nine inches."

Lily obeyed and waved the wand. Some red sparks left the tip of the wand.

"Oh! Not bad for a first guess!" cried the wandmaker. "Let´s try nine and a half inches instead!"

It was a wand of nine and three quarter inches at last. Lily produced red fireworks when she first touched it.

"It seems your son has the required gift, ," said when Dad paid for Lily´s wand. "I´ve been thinking about taking on an apprentice for quite some time, but only few are interested in the subtle art of wandmaking and even fewer possess the gift to find the right wand for a customer. If your son is still interested after his graduation he´s invited to apply for an apprenticeship with me."

"Which NEWTs do you require?" asked Dad.

"None at all," smiled . "When he applies, I will set him my own test. I don´t believe in ministry exams. But I insist he graduates first. He´d need it for most other professions if he discovered he wanted to give up the idea of becoming a wandmaker."

At the Leaky Cauldron they had lunch with Uncle Ron and his family. Lily was very proud of her wand and entertained them with stories about it all through the meal.


	30. Start of Year 3

**Year Three**

-x-

Breakfast on September, 1st, was hectic for the Potter family. Lily was up at the crack of dawn. She kept checking her school trunk, by the time she had settled down at the breakfast table, Winky – who was responsible for the packing – was in hysterics.

Kreacher outdid himself once again. He prepared all the children´s favourite treats as a good bye. There were pancakes for Al, baked beans for James and fruit salad with extra strawberries for Lily. Mum and Dad watched in amusement how their youngest pestered her brothers for information on Hogwarts while at the same time reminding them to stay away from her at the express again and again.

Al was glad that Lily planned to find her own friends. It had done him good not to stick too closely to his brother and it certainly would be wise for Lily, too.

After a tearful good-bye to Winky (the elf had spent a lot of time with Lily, especially since both her brothers had left for Hogwarts), they took Dad´s car to King´s Cross Station. Mum and Dad hugged them right after the barrier and off the Potter children were.

James went to meet Tom and Jerry near one of the back carriages. Al ran to meet Vern and Scorpius and Lily introduced herself to a group of girls who were, judging by their size, first years like herself.

"Where´s Enrico?" Al asked curiously. The Italian boy wasn´t usually late.

"He won´t come," said Vern. He sounded very sad. "He caught spattergroit. He wrote the healers say he won´t be well enough to come to school before Christmas."

"Oh my," said Scorpius. "He´ll miss a lot of lessons! I just hope he can catch up once he´s back."

Vern smiled weakly. "His mum tutors him at home for the time being. Enrico wrote that the headmistress keeps her informed what he has to learn. He can´t do most of the practicals, but he can read the textbooks and write his essays. They´re optimistic he won´t fail the year."

"I´m glad to hear that," sighed Al. "But it must be terrible to be so ill."

"It´s not so bad, he gets potions," said Vern.

"Who needs potions?" asked Rose as she entered their compartment with Circe in tow. She allowed Scorpius to peck her cheek. Circe sat beside Al and Al wondered whether she expected him to peck hers, too. He just wished he was as brave as his friend.

The train had reached the fringes of the city when their compartment door slid open again. A blond boy with curly hair and blue eyes stood there.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked, pointing at the seat which would have been Enrico´s.

"No," said Vern. "Come in."

"Thanks," smiled the boy. "Everywhere else is full but with the first years. I´m Felix Fameworth. I´ll be in third year."

"In third year?" asked Scorpius. "How come we never saw you? We´re third years, too."

"My dad works for the ministry," said Felix. "We returned from Austria this summer. Dad was there as an ambassador for five years."

Al introduced his friends to the new-comer and there was much handshaking. When the introductions were over, Al couldn´t but notice that Scorpius was holding Rose´s hand possessively.

-x-

Rose and Circe joined their dorm mates for the ride to the castle. Al, Scorpius and Vern chose a carriage and Felix followed.

"Do you already know which house you´ll be in?" asked Vern.

Felix was just going to answer, when his name was called outside in a booming voice.

"Felix Fameworth!" cried Hagrid. "Has anybody seen Felix Fameworth?"

Felix called out for the half giant.

"Come over her, lad!" the man cried back, "You gotta take the boats when you come to Hogwarts the first time."

Felix didn´t look enthusiastic over leaving his new friends, but they smiled at him and Al reassured him that the boat trip to the castle was fun.

When their carriage started to move, Scorpius blew a sigh of relief. "Is it only me? I don´t like him."

"He seems to be nice enough," replied Vern. He sounded a bit bewildered. They had played games for most of the journey and Felix had been fun to play with.

"I don´t like how he looked at Rose."

"You´re jealous!" squealed Al and nudged his friend in the ribs.

"You should be, too," growled Scorpius. "He was looking at Circe, too."

"Are you sure?" Al asked, concerned.

"Of course I´m sure," snapped the blond. "I´m a Malfoy. It´s in my blood to know when somebody is after what is mine."

-x-

The boys followed the sorting with polite interest. When Felix approached the stool – the boy looked like a giant between all the first years – Scorpius crossed his fingers and muttered "not Gryffindor, not Gryffindor", but he didn´t get his wish. The other boy put the hat back onto the stool and went to sit beside Rose.

Lily was sorted a little later. She looked very proud when she put on the hat. No wonder, she had eagerly been awaiting that moment for more than three years.

The hat took its time and Al wondered whether it was trying to trick Lily into a house like it had done with him. Seemingly Lily was more cunning than the family Slytherin, because the hat cried "Gryffindor!" in the end and she went to sit with a dark haired girl Al had seen at the platform at King´s Cross.

"A pity," said Scorpius. "We could have used her in Slytherin. She´s a gifted quidditch player."

"I was hoping she would go into Slytherin," agreed Al. "It would have felt nice not to be the only Slytherin in the family."

"In a family of Gryffindors," elaborated Scorpius, smirking. "A Slytherin among Hufflepuffs, that would be fun."

-x-

The first day of lessons brought two new subjects. The Slytherins had Arithmancy with the Hufflepuffs in the morning. While all Slytherin boys and all girls but one had chosen the subject, only two Hufflepuffs were in the course.

Scorpius wasn´t surprised. "Dad said that Arithmancy is a traditional Slytherin and Ravenclaw subject. The Slytherins choose it to handle their money and the Ravenclaws because it´s intellectually stimulating." He smirked.

"My family has no money to handly," grumbled Vern.

"Then you´ll hopefully find it stimulating," grinned Scorpius. "And never forget you´re a Slytherin. You can make your own money."

"I don´t see how," said Vern. "I´m not very gifted."

"But you are!" cried Al. "You need a bit longer than some others, because everything is new for you, but once you master a spell you´re doing a great job."

Vern blushed at the praise.

The arithmancy teacher was an elderly witch in grey robes, who wore huge golden earrings. "I´m Professor Matrix," she introduced herself. The woman didn´t care to read out the students´ names, but started her lecture right away. By the end of the lesson, Al had three rolls of parchment full of notes and enough homework for a month, to be handed in the next day.

After double potions – Al, Scorpius and Rose were teamed up again – the boys had a quick lunch and then they had to go outside for care of magical creatures. Hagrid lectured them on why they had to learn about magical creatures and which they were going to cover before Christmas.

"Depending on how you handle the flobberworms and babelfish, I´ll choose your projects for the second term," the half-giant explained.

Care of magical creatures was a class they had with the Gryffindors. Scorpius teamed up with Rose for the flobberworm project and Al with Circe. Vern looked a bit lost without Enrico, but Felix came over to him and they became a team.

"I´ll work with Enrico, once he´s back," Vern informed the other boy.

"No problem, by then I´ll know the others better and find a different partner," smiled Felix.

Caring for flobberworms turned out to be an easy thing. The worms were lazy creatures, which did nothing but eat an occasional leaf of lettuce.

"How about a game of exploding snap?" asked Rose on their way back to the castle. "We could meet on the lawn after dinner."

"We can´t," said Al. "Professor Matrix gave us loads of homework and some of the older students said she takes points if it isn´t done properly."

"I heard she´s very strict," agreed Circe. "That´s why I rather chose divination. Professor Trelawney is said to be very nice."

"My dad says she´s a fraud." Scorpius turned up his nose.

Actually Al´s Dad said the same, but Circe´s expression made it very clear that agreeing might be a mistake.

"I can play exploding snap with you," said Felix. "I don´t have much homework."

The girls agreed to meet him after dinner – Felix suggested to stay at their common room as the Slytherins weren´t coming anyway – and Scorpius glared at him like he was going to throttle the boy.

-x-

"Okay, so what are we going to do?" Scorpius asked when they had found themselves a quiet corner in the Common Room, far enough from the excited first years trying their first piece of controlled magic. Vern had gone to their dorm to fetch more parchment.

"Well, first we should look up the numbers connected with Hogwarts. We could make a table, as we´re going to need them frequently. That could spare us a lot of work later."

"No, stupid," Scorpius looked at Al as if he had lost his mind. "Not about the homework. Felix!"

"Felix?"

"Oh come on, don´t tell me you didn´t get it! That git is after Rose and Circe!"

"You think he likes them?"

"Not really, or he wouldn´t persue both of them. But I think he wouldn´t say no to a good snog and the bloody idiot wouldn´t say no to whoever would let him do what he wants."

"Circe wouldn´t!" Al protested. She hadn´t even let him snog her, not that he´d dared to try. There had only been some shy pecks, mostly on the cheek.

Scorpius sighed dramatically. "Al," he said in a tone that told he was struggling for patience, "you are a bit shy." He raised a hand to stop Al´s protest. "So far Circe seemed to like that well enough, but what if that Felix-boy is more foreward and she realises she likes that better?"

"What do you want me to do?" Al asked, shocked. "Corner her in the corridor and snog the living daylights out of her?"

"Well, that could be a little too much, but I think you should be more demanding with her. Rose likes it when I set the pace in our relationship."

Al gaped at Scorpius. He´d never seen the blond and his cousin do more than holding hands and exchanging shy pecks. His friend seemed to sense the unasked question. "I wouldn´t snog her with you standing by, would I?"

"But when...? Where...? How...?" Al was lost for words. From afar he must have looked like he wanted to imitate a carp.

"When?" Scorpius laughed. "Remember when Rose went to tell one of her dorm-mates something and I went to the loo on the express? Where? You know that little space near the luggage car? And how? Well, you´ll have to figure that out yourself."

Al looked at the blond in a mixture of disbelief and awe. They were only thirteen! As far as Al could tell people started snogging in the common room in their fifth year. He had never seen any younger students. But perhaps that was only because the younger ones were too shy to kiss in public. He sighed. Did Circe expect him to do ... something? Al wasn´t sure he felt ready for more than they had done so far.

"First day of classes and I can´t find my things!" Vern dropped down in the armchair they had reserved for him. "So, what are we going to do first?"

"Find a place for snogging!" – "Look up the numbers for Hogwarts!"

Vern looked at his two friends questioningly. Al blushed. Scorpius shrugged. Al thought that the blond looked a bit too superior for his own good.

-x-

Although Al had no reason to be jealous from a detached point of view, he found himself worrying. Was Circe looking at Felix more often than at him? Did she smile at the other boy at mealtimes more than at her other friends? Al´s only relief was that Scorpius was watching Rose just as closely.

"Did you have a row?" Vern asked after three days.

"A row? Why do you think that?" Scorpius answered the question with one of his own without taking his eyes off Rose, who was having lunch at the Gryffindor table.

"You have been staring at the girls for three days," Vern pointed out. "And you look worried. Are they cross with you?"

"There was no row, but I´m indeed a bit worried. Are we that obvious?" Scorpius asked sounding even more disquietened. Being a true Slytherin seemingly was even more important than the girls. And Slytherins never stared obviously.

"Not really," grinned Ariadne from beside the group of boys. "Only a Slytherin could spot your stares under your lashes. So, all of the house has noticed, but not the rest." She laughed good-naturedly at the shocked faces Al and Scorpius made. "I´ve come to tell you that we start training sessions next Saturday. I´ve booked the pitch for after lunch."

"After lunch?" growled Scorpius. "Can´t we train in the morning? We wanted to meet some friends in the afternoon."

"Sorry, guys. Hufflepuff has the pitch in the morning." Ariadne giggled as she went back to her friends.

Al and Scorpius sighed.

"Perhaps we can meet them in the morning," suggested Al.

"Rose likes to do her homework before she starts her weekend," Scorpius pointed out. "But we´ll have to ask them."

-x-

The girls agreed to the change of their usual weekend schedule gladly. James and his little Gryffindor gang had no problem with it either. This was why Al, Scorpius and Vern went to the lawn in front of the castle after breakfast on Saturday.

The Gryffindors were already there. James and his best friends, Tom and Jerry, were already playing. Rose and Circe sat by some bushes. Vern joined the other boys in an impromptu two on two match, while Al and Scorpius went to sit with the girls.

"Hi Rose," Scorpius greeted his girlfriend cheerfully and pecked her on the lips as if it was the most natural thing to do. Rose smiled up at him and patted the spot beside her, where Scorpius settled down gracefully.

Al admired the blond´s courage, and he wished with all his heart he dared to imitate him, but all he was able to do was peck Circe on the cheek. The girl seemed content with the little display of affection, though. When Al sat beside her, she placed her hand in his, and together they watched the other boys play.

"What about moving your lazy buts and joining the game, you two?" Jerry asked after a while.

James grinned. "Leave the lovebirds alone," he laughed.

Scorpius glared at the older Potter brother. "With your permission," he looked at Rose questioningly. "I´d like to show certain people their place."

Rose giggled and nudged Scorpius to get up.

Al followed his friend to the field and soon his mind was focussed on keeping the ball away from the Gryffindors. The game had become a Gryffindor against Slytherin match when Al and Scorpius had joined the other boys. The Slytherins were younger, but determined to win.

The fight was long and fierce. As they played only three on three, they had no goalkeeper and the first team to score ten goals was to win. They were already late for lunch when Vern managed to win the tenth point for Slytherin.

"Well done, Vern!" Lily cried. She was sitting with Rose and Circe. Al hadn´t seen her join them, but he was glad to see his little sister. James, being in the same house, was able to see her every day, but Al had barely managed glances at her from afar during the week. What didn´t please him at all though was the fact that Lily wasn´t the only one who had joined the group. Felix sat between Rose and Circe, absorbed in conversation with the two girls.

"Let´s go for lunch, Rose," Scorpius said beside him. The blond held out his hand for the girl to help her up and simply didn´t let go after she had rosen.

Al held his hand out for Circe, too. The witch took it, but as Scorpius had done it before, the gesture was less impressing, thought Al.

Felix joined Vern for the way back up to the castle.

"We really have to invite Felix to play with us," said Scorpius when the boys had sat down at their house table.

Al didn´t really feel like playing with the other boy. He´d rather throttle him, to be honest.

Vern was quicker on the uptake. "Who plays doesn´t flirt," he grinned.

"Exactly." Scorpius looked smug.

Sometimes Al wondered why the hat had put him into Slytherin. His friend and his cousin were both so much slyer than he!


	31. Games

After lunch Al and Scorpius went down to the quidditch pitch for their first training session of the new school year. Vern accompanied them. As his best friend, Enrico, wasn´t at school, the boy seemed a bit lost and Al had nothing against his cousin hanging out with him and Scorpius.

Near the pitch they were in for a nice surprise. Lily was waiting for them.

"Al," asked the girl, "can I fly after your practice for a bit? I haven´t flown all week and flying lessons won´t be before October. I´ll go crazy if I can´t get on a broom for a whole month!"

"No problem," laughed Al. "You can borrow my broom when we´re done with practice. You aren´t here to spy for James, are you?"

Lily laughed. "Definitely not! If he wants to win, he´ll have to train."

"You can sit with me while they train," offered Vern.

The girl agreed gladly and the two took off to the Slytherin stand while Al and Scorpius went to the changing rooms.

The session went well. The Slytherins didn´t need any new players that year and therefore could train properly right from the start. After a short warm-up, Ariadne released the balls and they practiced various moves they had used last year. The team hadn´t worked together for more than two months, so they needed some time to adjust, but then everything went smoothly.

"Good," cried Ariadne. "Next week we´ll start on new moves. Potter, I expect you to leave your little sister at the castle then. No Gryffindors in here when we learn new things."

Al blushed. "She´s only here to fly after practice."

"Says she," grinned the captain. "She can come when we´re done next week." Ariadne wasn´t really cross though. She offered Al to lend him her broom so that he could fly with Lily.

When the rest of the team had returned to the castle, Al, Scorpius, Lily and Vern had a little two on two match with a training snitch. It was fun until Vern lost control of his school broom and ran into the Hufflepuff stands at top speed.

"Oh my god!" cried Scorpius when Vern fell onto the grass with a loud thud.

"Lily, run to the castle and get help!" screamed Al. He and Scorpius rushed over to Vern.

Luckily the boy was conscious despite the height he had fallen from. He moaned.

"Are you hurt?" Al asked urgently. "Say something!"

Vern groaned again.

"Speak to us!" Al insisted. Scorpius raised a brow at him.

"Ouch?" Vern suggested, fighting tears of pain.

"Lily went for help," Al tried to reassure the boy. "Just stay where you are. They will come soon."

It was Professor Slope, who came running down from the castle. "Parker!" he cried from afar. "Are you hurt? Potter, how bad is it?"

"He´s in pain, Sir," explained Al. "We didn´t dare touch him."

"Well done," panted the Slytherin head of house. "As you're not apt in healing spells yet, you'd probably have done more damage than good." He moved his wand over Vern, muttering spells. From time to time his wandtip lit in colours of blue and green. "Some broken bones, nothing too serious. I´ll put you onto a stretcher, Parker. That will hurt, but once you´re settled on it, I´m confident we can move you without causing you more pain."

Vern nodded that he had understood. When the professor lifted him from the ground, he cried out in pain once, but apart from that he was very brave.

Madam Slope waited for them by the doors of the hospital wing. She repeated her husband´s examination of the damage, but other than he she continued her work with healing spells.

"There," she said after ten minutes. "All done. I want you to spend the night here though. Freshly healed bones hurt sometimes quite badly, and I want you near painkillers for the night."

Vern agreed – not that he really had a choice – and Al and Scorpius spent the rest of the day playing Exploding Snap at the hospital wing.

-x-

It was strange to return to the Common Room without Vern, and their dormitory seemed practically empty without him.

"That was a good practice," Scorpius broke the somewhat uncomfortable silence.

"Yes," agreed Al. "That new broom Ariadne has got for her birthday is great. Of course it isn´t as good as yours, but definitely better than the Comet she rode last year."

Scorpius smiled weakly.

"Did you see what happened to Vern?" Al asked a little later.

The blond shook his head. "I was watching out for the snitch. Did you see it?"

"No. That´s why I asked. Vern may not be great on a broom, but he´s not that bad. Something must have distracted him."

"We have to ask him tomorrow," suggested Scorpius.

Vern had not been distracted, it turned out when they asked him at breakfast. "I just lost control of the broom," he explained, wiggling his fork. "It wouldn´t go left or right, no matter what I did."

"In that case we should notify Professor Slope," suggested Al, "somebody could get hurt if the broom is damaged."

"I was hurt," Vern said with a mock pout.

"And we all pity you so much," grinned Scorpius.

-x-

The next weeks were rather quiet apart from Lily being a bit home-sick. Al and James tried to spend as much time with her as possible to soothe her and at last she adjusted fine. By the end of September she had found two friends, whom she brought to the Gryffindor/Slytherin meetings on Saturday afternoon.

"A pity we can´t play interhouse matches," Felix said with a grin. "We´d wipe the lawn with the Slytherins."

Scorpius looked smug. "Certainly not." Ever since they had engaged Felix in their soccer games the other boy had barely time to come near Rose or Circe.

"Why don´t we play boys on girls?" suggested James. They were seven boys (the three Slytherins, James and the twins and Felix) and five girls (Rose, Circe, Lily and her friends Endora and Susie).

"In case you haven´t noticed, we are more boys than girls," Tom pointed out.

James grinned broadly. "No problem. Al can play a girl."

Al smacked his brother playfully. "I will do no such thing!"

"We want Vern!" interrupted Rose.

"Clever, my dear," smirked Scorpius. "He´s one of the tallest boys and having been muggle-raised, soccer comes quite naturally to him. You should have been sorted into Slytherin."

Rose smirked back. "No need to insult me."

The blond chuckled and pulled her close to peck her cheek.

Vern smirked at the other boys superiorly. Obviously, he didn´t mind playing with the girls. "Ladies," he drawled, "let´s confere about our strategy." He extended his arms as if including all the girls in an embrace. The girls obediently gathered around him like chicks to a mother-hen.

Al and Scorpius smiled at each other. As long as it wasn´t Felix who got close to their girls, they didn´t mind. Vern was a true friend and would never try anything.

The girls and Vern, it turned out, were out for blood. They didn´t play for fun but to win. The boys might have had more practice in the past, but the girls were playing recklessly. They relied on the boys being gentlmen and more than once followed a collision course without hesitation. The boys lived up to their expectations and avoided running into the girls.

When Vern scored the fifth goal when the boys had only scored twice, James called a time-out.

"We have to do something," he said, "or they´ll rub it in forever!"

"Let them have their bit of fun," said Felix, but nobody agreed.

"I suggest we give them a bit of their own medicin," Tom looked at the others for support and got it. "Let´s see what they do when we don´t jump aside."

The girls, however, were not ready to return the favour of avoiding collisions. More than once boys and girls rolled on the floor. On second sight it was even fun and Scorpius tackled Rose on purpose repeatedly. Or maybe Rose tackled Scorpius, Al wasn´t sure.

They were already considering to return to the castle for dinner, when Al collided with Lily. The siblings rolled on the floor, but while Lily laughed good-naturedly, Al howled with pain.

"I knew he was a girl," mused Felix, which earned him angry glares from Scorpius, Vern and James.

"Are you hurt?" asked Circe. She knelt beside Al and looked him over worriedly.

"My leg!" moaned Al.

"Let me help," said James and cast a spell with a flourish.

A stretcher zoomed towards the small group from the castle and James and Scorpius helped Al sit on it. James would have made him lie down, but Al refused. Instead he held Circe´s hand all the way back to the castle.

Madam Slope met them at the entrance.

"Who of you was careless enough to accio a stretcher from the hospital wing?" she asked after she had made sure that Al´s death was not imminent. James raised a hand. "You nearly took out Ashton Wingley´s eye!" the matron scolded.

"I´m sorry, but my brother was hurt," James said, making puppy eyes. "I was so worried."

"Next time you better think first," muttered the nurse, but other than that she let James off the hook.

Once the boys were sure that Al had only broken a bone the Gryffindors returned to their tower, but Vern and Scorpius stayed with their friend of course.

"It´s not a good year for us," Vern pointed out.

Scorpius agreed. "I only hope this isn´t the start of another Slytherin black series."

-x-

Madam Slope insisted on Al staying at the hospital wing over night. The boy was not thrilled about that turn of events. By the time a house elf brought dinner, Al´s leg was as good as new and he could have hopped down to the dungeons on it had he desired to do so, but ignoring that fact, the school nurse insisted he stay in bed.

After dinner Al tried to read a bit – what else was there to do in bed? – but he didn´t really feel like studying herbology. Professor Longbottom had set them the task of finding out how to harvest thorns without getting hurt. It had sounded easy enough when the man had announced the assignment, but one look into his herbology book had taught Al that this was going to be a long and difficult task. It seemed each plant defended its thorns in a different way and therefore each needed its own method of harvest.

After ten minutes Al gave up. It would be better to arrange with Scorpius and Vern to cover a certain class of plants each. Content that he had at least a plan of action, Al put out his bedside candle and lay down to sleep.

Five minutes later he was wide awake.

The locket – his namesake´s locket – was warm! That meant Severus was there and wanted to speak to him. Al scrambled to a sitting position, lit the candle and retrieved the locket from under his nightshirt. He hadn´t talked to Severus since July. The headmistress had kept the portrait on his toes all August with school stuff – Severus hadn´t elaborated what she wanted when he had returned to Hogwarts.

Excited, Al opened the locket.

"Severus!" he whispered his greeting. "How are you?"

"I was going to ask the same," muttered the former headmaster. "Barely into the school year and you already are in the hospital wing! You do have too many of your father´s genes for your own good!"

Al laughed goodnaturedly. Severus and Dad had come a long way since Al had started at Hogwarts. Nowadays they had reached enough of an understanding to even bicker with and at each other.

"It´s not my fault, you know," Al whispered once he had calmed down. He told Snape how he had gotten hurt. "You don´t think this is another plot against Slytherin, with both me and Vern having got hurt?" the boy ended his story.

"It could be, but there´s no way to really tell with only two people hurt. Were there any accidents in other houses?"

Al had to think about that. "Eloise Midgen from Hufflepuff missed lessons, but I don´t know why. And a Ravenclaw got a bludger to his head. They say he didn´t even remember he was a wizard for the rest of the week."

"In that case two hurt Slytherins don´t really appear like a series, but better be vigilant. That it doesn´t look like a plot doesn´t necessarily mean it is none," advised the portrait. "And now tell me what you did in August."

Al filled his friend in on how he had spent the rest of the holidays and part of him was glad that he was in the hospital wing as it gave him a chance to speak with Snape in private.

"Do you happen to know how to harvest thorns?" Al ended his tale.

Snape smirked. "Of course I do, but I also happen to know that you will learn more if you look it up like Professor Longbottom intended you to. Good night, Al." Before the boy could protest, he stepped out of the locket to return to the headmistress´s office.

-x-

"Here you are, finally!" cried Scorpius when Al came down to the Great Hall a little late for breakfast the next morning. "Vern and I looked into the herbology stuff and we need to devide the work among us or we'll spend all day with it!" Vern nodded beside the blond.

"Thanks, I'm fine," growled Al. He glared at his best friend. "And I agree. I was thinking the same."

"I can see that you are fine, I'm not thick, you know," Scorpius laddled cereals into a bowl, poured milk on it and, after adding a dash of honey, passed it to Al.

The other boy looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow.

Vern smirked. "He's been like that ever since he left the hospital wing. I start wondering how he survived the summer without you."

"There are rumours," Al whispered, "that the Malfoys have a shape-shifter locked up in their dungeons."

Vern giggled.

Scorpius snorted. "Just so you know, if I want a shape-shifter, grandfather will get me one. Father would probably try to kill him for doing so, but that wouldn't stop him." He turned up his nose dramatically. "Of course you two can't understand that. It's a pureblood thing. Take a strawberry. They are good." He threw a strawberry into the cereal bowl from afar.

Vern laughed. Al drew his wand and cleaned off the milk he had been sprayed with. Once his robes were clean again he threw the strawberry back in a smooth motion. Scorpius caught it and bit into it with gusto.

The boys' bickering was interrupted when Professor Slope arrived. "Potter," he said sternly, "I want to know what happened yesterday!"

"It was nothing really, Professor," Al replied earnestly. "We played soccer on the lawn and my sister and I collided."

"You better be more careful. I'm not used to having half a dorm in the hospital wing before Halloween." The head of Slytherin glared at the boys and they all nodded.


	32. Pranking

October was nearing its end, when Scorpius pulled Al and Vern to the back of the classroom in Arithmancy. Al looked at the blond boy questioningly. Usually they sat in the front row in order not to miss one detail of what Professor Matrix said. That Scorpius would risk his position as top of the class came as a surprise.

"We need to talk about Halloween," said the blond while he prepared a stack of parchment, quills and ink for the lesson.

"Halloween?" echoed Vern. "Whatever for?"

"We need to play a prank." Scorpius opened his book to the page where they had stopped during the last lesson. They were studying lucky numbers.

"A prank? We never played a prank." Al was as bewildered as Vern.

"It's a Gryffindor thing to do," Vern pointed out. The old house rivalries had changed to a friendlier level, but it still existed. "Slytherins don't play pranks."

"They do," Scorpius said with an air of certainty, "but unlike Gryffindors, they don't get caught. And even if they didn't, they would if they felt it was to their advantage."

"Is it to our advantage?" Al opened his own book. Luckily Professor Matrix was distracted with one of the Hufflepuffs who had asked several questions about their homework.

"Of course, or I would not suggest it." Scorpius was now all Slytherin aristocrat. "We need to play a prank on Felix."

"Are you still jealous?" asked Al. Ever since they had included the curly blond in their soccer games, he had barely time to flirt with the girls.

"Are you blind?" asked Scorpius. "Did you see him at breakfast? He was practically drooling over Rose and Circe! We can't allow that!"

Al wanted to say something, but Professor Matrix had finally sorted out the Hufflepuff's trouble with the number 7 and called them to order to start the lesson.

It was a particularly complicated lesson about the properties of the number 13. Al had to concentrate hard not to miss a detail. They not only covered the lucky aspects of the number but also several muggle superstitions connected to it. The professor had them leaf through the book and look up details here and there. By the end of the lesson Al was sure he had missed a lot of information. He, Scorpius and Vern would probably need to compare notes in the evening.

"What do you have in mind for Felix?" asked Vern, who seemingly had no objections to playing a prank on the boy.

Scorpius smirked. "I thought we could wipe up an acne draught or something. I wouldn't mind turning him ugly for a while."

"If we do that, we have to make sure the girls don't drink any of it." Al hurried to point out. He had not forgotten the green hair incident.

"We will," Scorpius promised. "We were children back then."

"And what are we now?" Vern looked at Al questioningly.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Young men; although I will admit that I have my doubts in your case."

After supper, the Slytherin third years retreated to their dormitory to discuss their plans. Scorpius, it turned out, was determined to get Felix. He had four different potion recipes at hand which he considered possible to brew for them.

"That's your decision," Vern raised his hands in a gesture of capitulation. "I'm not good enough at Potions to talk."

"Nonsense," said Scorpius. "You are one of the best in our course. It's just that you have to work with two junior potions experts. You can't hold a candle to Al or me, of course."

Al snorted. "Stop it, Scorp, or somebody might think you are arrogant. You are doing well enough at Potions, Vern. Not excellent, but good enough." He took the parchment Scorpius was holding out. "Pimple juice? Are you crazy? There is no antidote!"

"That's the point," said Scorpius, "to make him ugly for at least a week."

"If you get one drop on your skin, YOU will be ugly for a week. If you want to risk that, go ahead, but I won't."

Scorpius looked at Vern hopefully. "You could do it. You have no girlfriend to impress."

Vern touched his index to his temple. "Dream on! If you want to play a prank on Felix, you will have to take the risk yourself. I'll help you, because you are my friend, but I will not take the whole risk for you."

"No pimple juice then," sighed Scorpius. "Read the next."

Al did as asked. "Acne draught. That sounds more like it. Did you bring lilac leaves?"

"Of course not. Just like you, I only learned of Felix's existance on the express. If we order today, we can get them via owl order in time."

"Well informed about owl order, are we?" grinned Vern.

"My family doesn't wish me to want. Father made sure I know how to get what I desire without having to run to him for every little thing," Scorpius explained.

"Knowing your father, he'd not want you to use your privileges for pranks," Al pointed out. Mr Malfoy and Dad seemed to enjoy some bickering and rivalry when they met, but Mr Malfoy didn't look like a prankster. Uncle George was a prankster if Al had ever known one.

"Father is all busy with Druella. She's toothing," snickered Scorpius. "He won't find out about the lilac leaves." Druella had been a demanding baby from the start. Al remembered the photos of a screaming child Scorpius had shown around when she was born.

"Nevertheless, I don't think Felix is worth getting in trouble with your parents," said Al. "What else is on your list?"

The third potion was ruled out immediately since Scorpius had overlooked that it needed specially prepared daisy roots. There was too little time to prepare them before Halloween. The last potions was a little treasure. The Scabbers Salve was easy and quick to brew, its effects were easily countered (liquorice was an antidote and Felix hated liquorice) and without the proper antidote, the effects could be expected to last until Christmas. What was even better, the salve required only ingredients from the student potions kit. True, it required one or two from the NEWT student potions kit, but Slytherin house had always been famous for its loyalty.

Vern started to put up a small potions lab on Enrico's bedside table while Al rummaged in their potion kits for the ingredients. Scorpius went down to the common room to ask one of the seventh years for dragon saliva and bowtruckle droppings.

-x-

Brewing the salve was easy, although if asked, Vern would not have agreed. Al and Scorpius cut, diced and minced, they stirred clockwise, anti-clockwise and in eights. Vern gave up trying to help actively after less than ten minutes.

Once the salve had been filled into a small jar and was put aside to cool, Al asked Vern to cast some spells to freshen up the air. The other boy was glad to be able to contribute to their cause at last and did as asked. Scorpius agreed with Al that Vern was really good at spellwork.

"Do you have an idea how we get the salve in Felix's face without him realising it was us?" Al asked as he put on his pyjamas.

"Did you realise how he touched his cheek when he's trying to look cute?" Scorpius asked.

Al snorted. "Why would I pay attention to a boy trying to look cute?"

There was a short silence and Al was sure Scorpius was rolling his eyes behind his back. "Really, you should pay attention to any boy who is trying to get too close to your girlfriend. One could get the idea that Circe is not important to you."

"Circe is very important to me!" cried Al. "I just don't want to spy on her!"

"I do by no means spy on Rose! I acknowledge her importance by paying attention at what happens around her," Scorpius explained in a tone that suggested it was the obvious thing to do. "I'm surprised you don't do the same for Circe."

Before Al could reply, Vern interrupted their discussion. "Al is just not as possessive as you are. What about a game of Exploding Snaps before bed?"

Al and Scorpius scrambled on Verns mattress and they enjoyed several games before the smaller boys returned to their beds. Al was grateful to Vern for the change of topic. He felt much more comfortable playing card games than discussing relationships with Scorpius.

-x-

Scorpius brought up the question how to apply their salve to Felix again the next morning. They agreed to put some on his book bag. The curly blonde was bound to touch it when he carried his bag and transfer it to his face when he – as Scorpius put it – tried to look cute.

"Nobody but other Gryffindors will touch the bag and I wouldn't mind several of them sporting scabbers in the face," Scorpius smirked.

"But what if Rose or Circe touch the bag?" Al had no desire to face an irate Circe when she found out he had ruined her complexion.

"They won't. Why would they?" Scorpius sounded very sure, so Al finally agreed.

The three got unexpected, but welcome help when Felix annoyed Jenny McCauldron, a fellow Slytherin third year in Herbology. "Can you believe it!" the girl ranted in the evening at the Common Room. "He pushed me because he wanted to work with Rose and I got flamingo droppings all over my shoes!" She rose her foot. The leather of her left shoe had large stains.

"Can't you spell them clean?" asked Vern.

"Not really," huffed Jenny. "I tried, but the leather is damaged. There's nothing that can be done."

"I didn't see the whole incident," mused Scorpius. "When did it happen?" He had teamed up with Al for the assignment in order to discuss their prank.

"I thought you paid attention to what happened with Rose," teased Al.

"I saw that he tried something with Rose again!" cried Scorpius. He continued lower since several other students craned their necks to see what the noise was about. "I did not pay attention to other girls. Sorry, Jenny, no offence."

"None taken," smiled the redheaded girl."To be honest, I was surprised you weren't working with Rose."

Scorpius made a face. "That was a mistake. I needed to talk with Al, but I should have waited for lunch."

"It must have been a very important talk," Jenny looked at Scorpius curiously.

The boys looked at each other and came to a silent understanding quickly. "We are going to play a prank on Felix. He deserves it," Scorpius looked at Jenny expectantly and was not disappointed. The girl grinned. "Do you need help?" she asked.

-x-

Jenny gave the boys the thumbs-up at lunch on October 31st. The plan had been simple. Jenny sought out Rose in the morning under the pretence of wanting to tell her about something Scorpius had said about her at the Common Room. They chatted happily, with some girly giggling. At some point, Felix who was always near the girls joined the conversation and Jenny applied the salve to his bag when he was distracted.

On the way to Charms, Scorpius slipped Jenny a phial of antidote (a syrup with liquorice in it; Jenny had outright refused to eat liquorice when the boys told her it was the antidote). She had to touch the salve to apply it, but luckily the brew did not work before several hours, so there was enough time to give her the antidote without any Gryffindor near by.

Professor Flitwick honoured the occasion of Halloween by teaching them how to charm their hair various shades of green and purple. The Slytherins played with the spells and there was a lot of laughter. Vern and Scorpius battled happily while Al watched and commented on the colours they hexed on each other's heads. The professor sat at his desk and clapped his hands when Vern turned Scorpius's hair an especially vivid shade of lime green.

Charms was the last lesson of the day. The boys returned to their dorm after the lesson to prepare for the feast. This year, Vern had brought a costume. It was a rather simple black cloak, but it turned Vern into a quite decent bat. Scorpius put on an expensive cloak of white fur. He was, he informed his friends when asked, a Russian snow-fairy. Al became a vampire with some quick spells Mum had taught him during the summer.

The Great Hall was already buzzing with chatter and laughter when the three Slytherins arrived. Headmistress McGonagall welcomed them all to the feast and asked them to admire the decorations for which Professor Flitwick was responsible. After a round of applause for the small Charms teacher, the food appeared.

Al enjoyed all his favourite dishes. They were not as delicious as they would have been if Kreacher had prepared them, but they were good enough. Scorpius chattered happily about the superior quality of the food at Malfoy Manor. His grandfather, he informed his friends, had several house elves who cooked for the family. Vern oohed and aahed in the right places, but Al rolled his eyes and teased the blond good-naturedly.

The boys were enjoying their third helping of icecream when there were screams at the Gryffindor table. It seemed that more people than they had anticipated had touched Felix's bag and when one Gryffindor after the other developed a rash, panic ensued. Later, nobody could tell who had cast the first spell, but soon hexes were flying at the Gryffindor table.

Al and his friends looked at each other guiltily as the teachers rushed to the Gryffindor house table. The headmistress and several other teachers cast shield spells to prevent students from being hit by the spells of panicking house mates. Professor and Madame Slope checked the students for injuries. Professor Flitwick went to the other tables and sent the students off to their houses.

Back at Slytherin house, Al, Scorpius and Vern returned to their dorm without further ado. They changed into pyjamas in silence and sat in their beds. Al pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs.

"Do you think James and Lily are hurt?" he asked in a small voice. He'd never be able to forgive himself if his siblings were injured as a result of his prank.

"I think Lily is safe," said Scorpius. "The younger students sat together at the end of the table. I don't think that anybody near her knew any dangerous spells. I can't tell with James since I was rather looking out for Rose."

Al hid his face behind his knees. Rose was his cousin and he hadn't spared her one thought when he had been worried about Lily and James! "Was she hurt?" he asked.

"I don't know." Scorpius sounded miserable. "She was in the middle of the racket. I just hope she wasn't!"

"Rose is a powerful witch," Vern pointed out soothingly. "Even if a spell flew her way, she'd have known what to do."

The longer the boys talked, the more people Al remembered he had to worry for. What about Circe? And Tom and Jerry? Oh, that prank had gone so wrong!

-x-

The headmistress announced at breakfast the next morning that classes were cancelled for two days.

"There are seventeen injured students at the hospital wing, twelve of them Gryffindors, and another nineteen have a rash. We have not found out yet, who cast that scabbers spell," she looked at Gryffindor house sternly, but her features softened at the sight of the empty seats, "but rest assured, we will! I strongly recommend you catch up on your homework while you have no lessons."

After breakfast the boys went to the hospital wing to see whether their friends were among the injured or had only cought the rash. They were sent away because with so many injured, visitors had to be limited to a certain number and residents of the castle had to wait in favour of those who had come from outside.

The boys spent the day in the library although it was little use. Al could not concentrate. He was sick with worry. His friends pointed out that Madame Slope would have told him if any of his siblings had been seriously hurt, but that didn't put his mind at ease.

They returned to the hospital wing after dinner and Al was determined not to let himself be sent away again.

"Ah, Mr Potter!" Madame Slope greeted the small group. "Do come in." She raised her hand when Scorpius and Vern tried to follow. "Siblings only. With so many patients I can't allow friends."

Al looked at his housemates with dread. He swallowed hard as he followed the healer inside. Who was hurt? James or Lily? Or both?

Al felt even worse when he recognized Mum sitting on the edge of one of the hospital beds from afar. The injury must be pretty serious when they called for a parent!

"Mum!" Al fell into a run and stopped only when his mother wrapped her arms around him. "Why are you here?"

Mum pressed a kiss on top of Al's head. "James has been hurt."

Al swallowed hard. "How bad is it?" Guilt and worry gnawed at his conscience.

Mum stroked Al's hair. "He was hit by a nasty hex, but apart from a small scar, he will be as good as new." She stepped aside to let Al see his brother.

James was very pale. Al gasped when he realised that the scar his mother had been talking about was on his brother's left cheek. The older Potter boy smiled weakly. "Dad has a scar in his face, too. No need to be shocked."

"But Dad's scar is a famous curse scar!" cried Al. "Yours is from a fight at a school feast, that's hardly the same."

"Thanks for encouraging me," James smiled lopsidedly. "How bad is it? They won't give me a mirror."

"It's still angry and red. You'll get to look at it when Madame Slope had time to apply a salve," Mum joined the conversation. "If you're lucky, it will be a very cool scar." She winked at James, but Al thought that she was only trying to cheer him up. He had never seen her that pale.

Madame Slope brought the salve a half hour later. James's cheek became a healthy rose colour and the scar was a little darker than the skin around it.

"Wow!" Al had cried out before he could stop himself. James was indeed lucky! The scar looked like a dragon! Mum conjured a mirror for her eldest son and a minute later, James was beaming. "That could be worse!"

-x-

Al was surprised that Scorpius and Vern were not waiting for him in front of the hospital wing when he left. Bewildered, he set out for Slytherin house. His confusion increased when he found all Slytherins assembled in the Common Room. At least he found Scorpius and Vern quickly; or they found him. He had barely stepped into the room when the Malfoy heir pulled him to a quiet corner of the room.

"He can't prove anything if we all keep our silence!" he hissed.

There was no time to ask what the blond was talking about, because Professor Slope started to speak near the fireplace.

"I want to know," the Head of Slytherin said sternly, "who of you is responsible for the racket at the Gryffindor table! Don't even try to deny it! No other house than Slytherin would have the ability or an interest in hurting Gryffindor house the way it happened yesterday. I'm disgusted! Thirty-six students were hurt! The headmistress thinks that somebody cast a scabbers charm, but I differ." He made a pause. "Who of you brewed scabbers salve?" he barked at last. "Don't let me cast spells to detect dragon saliva on the lot of you!"

"You'll detect dragon saliva on all your NEWT students, Sir," a seventh year pointed out.

Al smiled. Professor Slope should know better than try and trick a room full of Slytherins.

The professor smirked. "To be honest, Bertram, I'm quite sure that the culprit is not a NEWT student. I'd be very disappointed if I hadn't taught you more subtle ways of spreading desease than scabbers salve."

Al and Scorpius looked at each other in panic.

"So?" the professor snarled. "Who was it?"

Bertram laughed. "You won't get a confession from Slytherins, and you know it, Sir. Besides, don't forget house loyalty." The tall boy stepped forward. "It was I who brewed the salve, Sir."

"Nonsense," barked Professor Slope. He glared at the boy.

A girl with a long auburn braid stepped forward. "It was I, who brewed the salve!" she said and clutched Bertram's hand. Another girl followed. "It was I, who brewed the salve!" She took the auburn's hand.

"It was I, who brewed the salve!" - "It was I, who brewed the salve!" - "It was I, who brewed the salve!" - "It was I, who brewed the salve!" - "It was I, who brewed the salve!" - "It was I, who brewed the salve!"

One by one all of Slytherin house stepped forward. Al thought the professor must realise who the real culprits were, because their voices shook, but the man said nothing. He only spoke, when the last first year had taken her place in the queue of Slytherins.

"Four hundred points from Slytherin for inflicting a rash on Gryffindor house!" he snarled. He glared at them sternly again before he turned towards the entrance. "And five points to each of you for house loyalty."

The Slytherins let go of each other when the wall had closed on their head of house. "Well done, everybody!" cried Bertram. There were more than hundred Slytherins which meant that the house had even gained points for the whole incident. "Oh, and Malfoy, next time you want to get at Fameworth, punch him on the nose."

The other students laughed and then returned to what they had been doing before Professor Slope called them to the meeting.

"You look cute with a blush," grinned Vern and smacked Scorpius friendly on the arm. The third year boys went up to their dormitory, where Al put on his pyjamas and scrambled under his duvet immediately.

"Who was hurt?" asked Scorpius, sitting on the edge of Al's bed.

"James," came the answer in a muffled voice. "He's scarred!"

"I'm sorry!" Scorpius sounded very uneasy.

Al shoved his duvet down far enough to peek out at the blond. "We were lucky. It's in his face, but it looks like a small dragon. He thinks it's cool."

"I'm glad he does," the blond smiled weakly. "You know that I never wanted to hurt anybody."

"What about Felix?"

Scorpius snorted. "Well, maybe I'd not be averse to hurting him a bit, but never James!"

Al nodded and turned his back on his best friend. "Good night, Scorp!" He lay awake for hours, picturing what would have happened if Lily had been hit by a spell. She was a first year and knew no defensive magic at all!

Author's note: I was asked about certain mistakes in my stories...

This story was originally written right after DH came out. By the time I read those interviews Mrs. R gave on what happened after the final battle, the mistakes were made. Since the question whether Norbert the dragon is male or female has no influence on the story at all, I decided to leave it.

I do not aim for perfection. I'm writing to have fun.


	33. Consequences

It took more than two weeks until the last injured student returned to class. Pandora Barnes, a second year Gryffindor, had been hit by several spells at once. In an unprecedented chain reaction the spells had caused her bones to turn into rubber. There were rumours that Madame Slope and the headmistress had had a row over whether the main curse was a jelly leg jinx or a tooth breaking charm in the hospital wing.

James was a hero for Gryffindor house. He wore his new dragon scar with pride and was spotted followed by a group of giggling girls at least thrice. Luckily the fan girls didn't come to the next soccer meeting. The weather was warm and sunny for November, but there had already been some frost earlier in the week and there was a good chance that this might be the last Saturday game on the lawn for months.

Tom and Jerry sported some traces of scabbers, but Felix was disappointingly scabber-free. "My rash was the worst," he beamed at the Slytherins, "but luckily I want to be a potions master like my grandfather. I whipped up an antidote. It was easy."

Al raised an eye brow at Scorpius. Felix's performance in potions was mediocre at best; the idea that he of all people should be able to come up with an antidote was absurd.

The soccer game was great fun. The Gryffindors and Slytherin were equally matched and the lead changed again and again. Al had just scored for the second time when Lily joined the group.

"Can I play for a while?" asked the girl.

"Slytherin is in the lead. You replace one of your players with Lily," said James.

Lily glared at him angrily, but Al went to sit with Rose and Circe leaving his place on the team to his little sister. He was actually glad that he could spend a little time with Circe.

"So, you're alright?" the boy asked when he sat beside his girlfriend. He pecked her on the cheek, wishing once again he was brave enough to kiss her lips.

"I am," Circe leaned closer to Al and snuggled up to him. He thought it was nice.

"No rash? Everybody seems to have it." Luckily Circe and Rose both loved liquorice. If they had touched the salve, they had probably unwittingly countered it within the hour.

"We both had it, but it went away quickly," said Rose. "I guess something we ate healed it. Felix keeps boasting about his antidote, but he gave it to all Gryffindors and only three were healed. He must have eaten the mystery remedy, too." She laughed. "The little showoff."

"Your brother is very brave," said Circe. She snuggled even closer.

"He has to be," replied Al. He wondered whether it would be inappropriate to wipe his sweaty hands on his robes. Circe that close made him pretty nervous. "He's a Gryffindor."

"Oh!" squealed Circe. "That was a nice thing to say!" And then she stretched a little and touched her lips to Al's! After a brief moment of shock, Al wrapped his arms around her possessively and kissed back. Why had he been afraid of kissing? Why had he ever thought he was not ready? The sensations of Circe's weight against his body and her soft lips touching his were wonderful!

He let go of the girl when there were catcalls from the soccer players. They both blushed.

"Finally!" cried Tom. "You two have been dancing around each other way too long!"

"Congratulations, little brother," laughed James. He slapped Al's back good-naturedly. "I suggest you find a better place though. Believe me, you don't want McGonagall to catch you!"

Al made a mental note to ask James when he had been caught by McGonagall and, more important, with whom. Now was not the time for that though. Circe hinted that she knew an empty classroom near the Astronomy tower.

-x-

The months leading up to Christmas were happy ones for the Slytherin third years. Their prank on Felix hadn't turned out the way they had planned, but in the end everybody was content. Felix's bragging about his abilities at potions and the fact that his antidote had not worked had cost the curly blond a lot in his social standing at Hogwarts, especially with the Gryffindor girls. Rose and Circe were barely seen in his company any longer.

Al took to kissing like a duck to water. He spent a lot of his free time hiding away with Circe. First he was worried he was abandoning Scorpius, but the blond sported the same beatific smile as Al quite often, so his loss was probably not that bad. Vern surprised everybody when he was caught with Juliet Barkley near the library. He never admitted they had done anything to deserve the severe loss of points Slytherin and Ravenclaw had suffered that day though.

James was very proud of his scar. Somebody – Al assumed it was one of his brother's friends – had started a rumour that Potter men never got normal scars which meant that they had to be descendants of Merlin himself. It was common knowledge that Merlin had a scar that looked like the British islands and the special scar gene had obviously been passed on to the Potters.

Al pointed out to Scorpius that he had a very common scar on his left shin from when he had fallen off one of Grandma Molly's apple trees at the age of five. Scorpius snorted dismissively and said that that could mean two things, namely either Al was not a Potter (which was an absurd idea seeing that he shared Dad's rare eye colour) or the special scar gene worked only on wounds inflicted by magic and not on ones caused by stupidity. They had a row on whether falling down an apple tree was stupid and ended up on Scorp's bed in a tickle war, which Vern won (which was quite an achievement seeing that he had not been part of the row).

Al insisted that Lily learn shield spells. What if a situation like at Halloween occurred again? The girl had to be able to protect herself! First Lily protested that she had enough studying to do, but when she realised shield spell lessons meant spending more time with her brother, she agreed.

Training with Lily was fun. She was a very talented witch and it took her only four or five lessons to learn how to conjure a shield that would protect her against most of the hexes and jinxes students would use.

The first week of December brought even more happy news. Enrico returned to Hogwarts! The boy was pale and had lost a lot of weight, but he was no longer a danger to his fellow students and could be allowed to attend lessons.

The Slytherins held an impromptu party at the common room to celebrate the return of one of their own. Scorpius brought the box of chocolates and cakes his grandmother had sent him – she sent one every week – and several of the older students sacrificed their secret stocks of butterbeer for the occasion.

"I'm so glad to be back, guys," said Enrico. "I won't be able to do much more than go to lessons since I tire still easily, but nevertheless… it was pretty lonely at home without you all."

"We missed you, too, mate," grinned Vern and sat beside his best friend. He handed Enrico a butterbeer. "Missed you, too," echoed Al and Scorpius as they squeezed onto the sofa on Enrico's other side.

It was a nice thing to have Enrico back, especially since Vern teamed up with his best friend in all his classes and Felix had to look for a new partner. In Potions he had to work with Barnaby Franklin, a fellow Gryffindor who had a long record of mishaps and had been banned from using potentially dangerous ingredients by Professor Slope in second year.

-x-

Never had Al been so reluctant to return home before. It just didn't seem right to leave Circe! Only when he sat in Dad's car did he feel the excitement of previous years about seeing Mum, Kreacher and all the Weasleys again.

"I thought now that you're all Hogwarts students," said Dad looking at the Potter children through the rear-view mirror, "you are old enough for a real Christmas holiday. We'll go skiing."

James and Al cheered. Circe had been skiing last year and Al was thrilled to experience it himself. Lily looked doubtful. "But I want to see Grandma Molly and Uncle Ron and the others!" she protested.

"You will," Dad promised soothingly. "We're going to the traditional Christmas party, of course!"

"That's good!" Lily replied merrily. "I've been looking forward to it!"

Auntie Mione had insisted to host the Weasley Christmas party that year again since her and Uncle Ron's house was easily the biggest owned by members of the clan. The Potters had a quiet morning and as they didn't have to cook, Kreacher and Winky agreed to have breakfast with the family.

Kreacher had made all the children's favourite treats. There were several kinds of muffins, different jams, cereals, a Swiss roll and even a huge chocolate cake for Al. Dad grinned happily when Kreacher brought a treacle tart from the kitchen as the last addition to their large family breakfast.

Mum poured tea for the adults and the elves and cocoa for the children before she sat down. For a little while the family enjoyed the meal in silence before they started some light conversation. Dad asked Lily about her Defense lessons and Lily told proudly that Al had given her some extra training on shields.

"Well done, Al!" cried Dad. "After that Halloween incident I thought about teaching Lily some defensive magic myself over Christmas. Since we won't have to start at the very beginning we should be able to achieve quite a lot before you have to return to Hogwarts." He smiled at his little daughter fondly.

"Thank you, Dad!" beamed the youngest Potter.

"Hey," cried James, "why don't I get extra lessons?" He pointed at his cheek, causing Al a jolt of guilt. "I need it as well!"

"If James gets extra lessons, I want them, too!" Al was too Slytherin to miss an opportunity to gain an advantage.

Dad laughed. "Aren't our children eager learners, Darling?"

Mum grinned. "It runs in the Weasley blood. At least I never heard about Potters wanting to learn eagerly."

"I'm always eager!" Dad pouted.

"Thank you for the chocolate cake, Kreacher," Al changed topic. "It's great."

The old elf beamed at him. "Thank you, young master!"

"How is Reggy? I'm looking forward to seeing him later," smiled Al. Kreacher and Winky's son had moved to Auntie Mione's household two years ago and Al had seen little of his friend since then.

"Reggy met a girl," Kreacher said proudly. "His mistress allowed he marry her and Kreacher will soon be a grandfather!"

"That's wonderful!" cried Al. He couldn't wait to meet Reggy's new wife.

"Al has a girlfriend, too," James felt compelled to inform his parents. "There are rumours he spends every free moment snogging her."

"James!" Al glared at his brother warningly.

James missed the warning entirely. "I know now why Al is not in Gryffindor. Just imagine, sweet little Circe had to kiss him first or he'd still moon over her from afar!"

Al felt like punching his brother but that would not have been the Slytherin thing to do. "At least I didn't get caught by McGonagall." He smirked at his brother, but before Mum or Dad caught his smirk, he concentrated on his cake.

"James Sirius Potter!" cried Mum in that tone only she and Gran Molly were able to produce. "When were you caught with a girl by the headmistress? How could you treat her with so much disrespect that Minerva felt she had to act?"

"Ginny, it's Christmas!" Dad tried to soothe her, but one glare from the enraged witch sent him spooning more treacle tart into his mouth.

"Well, I'm waiting for an answer!" Al could practically see Mum tap her foot impatiently under the table.

"You rat!" hissed James.

Lily giggled into her cup of cocoa.

"What?" Al replied innocently. "You told about my girlfriend and I about yours. What's wrong with that?"

"You'll pay for that!"

"Don't try to distract me," hissed Mum. "I want to know what you did! Now!"

"With Al and Lily listening?" piped James.

Mum glared at the family as a whole. "Lily go to your room and get ready for the party!" Al was surprised he was not sent away as well.

"Kreacher will go and get ready, too," said the elf and Winky nodded enthusiastically.

"Stay," said Mum. "There's no reason we should not enjoy our breakfast just because James misbehaved."

"I want to enjoy my breakfast, too!" protested Lily, but hurried to leave the room after another glare from Mum. Al was fairly sure she was using Extendable Ears on the door. Of course Mum thought the same and cast a spell on the door to prevent her youngest child from listening in. Sometimes Al wondered whether Mum should have been in Slytherin.

"Well?" Mum snapped at James when Lily was finally out of earshot.

James knew when he was trapped and confessed. Al could not but marvel. His brother had been caught in his first year snogging his year mate Annabelle Watson after curfew by the lake!

Dad shook his head. "You went outside? There are spells on the doors to alert the teachers, you fool!"

"Harry James Potter, are you advising your son on how to best break the rules?" Mum slammed her hand down on the table.

"Kreacher, can you shrink my presents for Gran and Grandpa for me?" Al got up. Kreacher beamed and hurried to follow Al out of the room. James followed his brother's lead. "I have some presents to shrink, too!" Winky accompanied the three just to make sure things were done properly.

"Traitors!" Dad cried after them. Then the door snapped closed and Mum's spell prevented them from hearing more.

-x-

Two hours later, the Potter family was ready to leave for the party.

"Muuum!" whined Al. He had tried everything but crying to soften his mother. "What will Gran think if I come with a black eye?"

"That you had a row with your brother and for some reason did not deserve a healing charm?" Mum glared at both her sons. James sported a similar black eye. They had started to punch each other the moment Kreacher turned his back on them and Dad had been busy preventing the elf from punishing himself for letting the kids hurt each other for the best part of an hour.

"But I'm in pain!" Al complained.

"I'm sure so is James."

"Dad!" Al changed tactics; he had learned from a young age that it was easier to manipulate Dad than Mum.

"Don't you dare!" Mum hissed at Dad.

Dad raised his hands defensively. "I'm not suicidal. Although I really think you should let me heal them since it's Christmas."

Mum did not deign him with an answer and ushered Lily to the fireplace instead. "Here, dear. Take some floo powder." She held out the jar. It had been an unwritten law in the Potter household that injuries inflicted to each other by the Potter brothers were not healed with magic. It was a rule stated by Gran Molly for her own children that who was brave enough to brawl had to be brave enough to suffer the consequences.

"Wow, what was worth this at Christmas?" Uncle Ron greeted his nephews. "You didn't fight over a girl, did you? – Oh, you did!" He cried when the brothers glared at each other angrily.

"We didn't," snapped James and went to find Uncle George. Al made a mental note to watch his back in the future. Uncle George was a known prankster and had often agreed with James, if only playfully, that little brothers needed a lesson now and then.

Uncle Ron looked at Al questioningly. "He gossiped about my girlfriend, but couldn't take a bit of the same. Big brothers are a menace sometimes." If James could go to Uncle George, Al could ask Uncle Ron for advice. "We'll talk about it later," Uncle Ron whispered conspiratorilly before he went to greet Auntie Fleur who had just stepped out of the floo.

The feast was marvellous. Reggy was as good a cook as Kreacher and his new wife, Patty, made excellent desserts. Kreacher and Winky helped the younger elves with the meal. Reggy pointed out to his parents that he agreed only because Patty was pregnant repeatedly. Once the meal was served, the elves sat down to eat with the family. Auntie Mione insisted Reggy and Patty eat with them every day and the young elves were used to it by now. Kreacher and Winky followed their lead although Al could tell they were a bit uncomfortable. It was one thing to eat with their own masters occasionally, but a different one to join a swarm of guests.

After the meal, presents were opened. Al got stacks of books, lots of sweets and a bag of dungbombs (from Uncle George), which Mum confiscated at once. The best present was a battered chess set. Gran Molly said it had belonged to her brother Fabian.

"Why did you choose me of all your grandchildren to give it to?" asked Al.

Gran Molly hugged Al fondly. "Because my mother always said Fabian was so cunning, she was surprised he didn't end up in Slytherin. So who but the family's Slytherin should get it?" She kissed Al's hair.

"Thank you, Gran! I'll honour it!" Al promised. He knew how much her dead brothers meant to his grandmother.

It was already dark outside when Granpa Arthur took Al and James outside to the yard and asked about their black eyes. James told what had happened. Granpa shook his head. "Really, boys, I'm disappointed. You should be old enough to know that brothers have to stick together!"

Al and James looked at each other guiltily. "I'm sorry," James said at last. Al echoed the apology and they hugged. Granpa smiled happily. "So let all be forgiven and forgotten." The old wizard waved his wand and Al felt the tickling of a healing charm on his face.

Mum discovered her sons' freshly healed faces only when she called them to go home. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked sternly. "Who did this?"

"Nobody!" said James and Al hurried to add "Not Dad!"


	34. Extracurricular studies

Dad started the children's defense lessons the next day. The first thing he did was cast a nonverbal spell that would prevent the ministry from catching the Potter children doing magic at home and urge them to keep this secret.

The first part of the lesson, Dad tested the children's defenses. He threw mild hexes at them and they tried to defend themselves. James did best. He was in fourth year and knew quite a few defensive spells already. Al got hit by a tarantallegra spell and hadn't Dad lifted the spell, Al would have tapdanced for the rest of the holidays. Lily did quite good for a first year.

"Al taught you a lot, I see," praised Dad. "Well done, Al, and well done, Lily! All three of you could improve your performance without learning any magic by moving better. The simplest form of defense is, after all, flight. Sometimes it is enough to take one step to the side to avoid a spell. I'll show you how. I want you to hex me and I will try to defend myself using as little magic as possible."

"Says the man who doesn't need a wand," muttered James.

Dad grinned. "It's not my fault that I'm powerful. But if I say I won't use it, I won't use it. There's not much sense in showing you techniques you are too young to copy, is there?"

"Do you think we can learn wandless magic when we are older?" James asked eagerly. Al was all ears, too.

Dad shrugged. "Nobody can tell. Only the most powerful can do it and there are far more spells I need my wand for than not; but since I am quite powerful and so is your mother, there's no reason to think that you won't be able to do one or the other spell without a wand. Now, let's start. Hex me!"

The children did their best. Dad avoided most spells by hopping to and fro and only when Al and James started to work together had he to use more complicated maneuvres to stay safe. It took them several minutes to force the head auror to use a spell in his defence.

Suddenly Dad howled with pain. The children lowered their wands and rushed to see what had happened. Dad's robes had been cut open over his stomach and a nasty cut crossed the exposed skin.

"Run, Lily! Get Mum!" cried James. He started to chant a spell, moving his wand in circles over Dad's wound.

"Since when do you know medical magic?" asked Al. He knelt beside Dad and held his hand.

"I can't heal him!" cried James. "We only learned how to slow bleeding yet!" He continued his chant and really, the blood left the wound slower.

"Harry!" Mum stormed into the room with Lily in tow. "What have you done now!" She knelt in the spot Al had hurriedly vacated for her. "Well done, James. You can stop now, I take over." She started her own chant as soon as James had stopped his. Mum's spell was more urgent, the words were more complicated and the wand movement was more refined than James's. Al watched the wound close little by little in fascination. He had to learn how to do that!

A quarter hour later, Dad was as good as new. Mum watched him repair his robes with a spell, tapping her foot impatiently. "Well," she snapped, angry now that there was no more reason to worry, "what have you done? How did you manage to lie bleeding when you were supposed to show the children a shield spell?"

"I asked them to attack me," muttered Dad guiltily.

"And Al was stupid enough to use a cutting hex on Dad!" cried James.

"I did not!" protested Al. "We were supposed to use minor hexes! I only used a hair growing jinx and jelly legs!"

"Are you meaning to tell me that Lily cast that cutting hex?" raged James. "Because I know for sure I didn't!"

"I'm a first year!" cried Lily.

"But one of us must have used it, obviously," said James.

"Leave it," sighed Dad. "I'm famished. Let's see what Kreacher made for lunch." He led the way out of the room. When he reached the door, he cancelled the trace shield with a casual wave of his hand.

The children and Mum followed Dad and all the way to the dining room, the Potter brothers eyed each other suspiciously from under their lashes.

Mum and Dad tried to find out who had used the cutting spell on Dad for the rest of the holidays, but to no success. Since they were not ready to use legilimency on their children the culprit's identity remained a secret.

Of course Al knew it had been James. Lily didn't know any spells of that nature yet and Al knew for sure that he had not done it. This left James. Of course Al told Mum and Dad whenever they interrogated him – for the first time Al realised that Dad could be scarier than Mum if he chose to – but, of course, James told them the same about Al.

There was no dessert between the incident and the children's return to school.

-x-

"I never took James for a liar," said Scorpius when Al told him what had happened. "A bit of a fool like all Gryffindors, but not a liar. They usually deal with the consequences of their crimes."

"That's what I thought," agreed Al. "Maybe he got scared when he saw Dad bleed and was ashamed about what he had done. I, at least, was terrified. I thought Dad was going to die. We have to look up healing charms." With only his best friend around he could admit just how scared he had been. Al was glad he had waited until they were alone.

Scorpius agreed that knowledge of basic medical magic could come in handy. It was quickly agreed to use one evening a week for research on the topic.

Two weeks later, Al and Scorpius – they had never made Vern and Enrico part of the project since the other boys were busy enough with their regular school work – went up to the hospital wing on Saturday evening.

"What have you done now?" asked Madame Slope when she spotted them. Her stern words were softened by a smile.

"Nothing, Madame," said Scorpius politely. "We were wondering whether we could ask you something."

The nurse ushered the boys to the back of the empty ward and transfigured one of the beds into chairs. "What do you need?" she asked.

"We have been researching healing spells," said Scorpius. "And wanted to know how to practice them. Are we supposed to injure ourselves to get wounds to practice on?"

"Oh no!" cried Madame Slope. "It's true that healer apprentices use the technique to perfect their spell casting, but beginners use a lazarunium."

"A what?" asked Al. He had never heard of an item called a lazarunium.

The nurse smiled. "A lazarunium. They are magical creatures which are always covered in boils and wounds. It's their natural state. You can practice healing spells on them. If the spell doesn't work, it doesn't harm them; and if you manage to close a wound it will reopen some minutes later."

"How can they survive when they are constantly wounded?" asked Al.

"You have to ask Hagrid," advised the witch. "He'll know more about them. If you want one to practice, you can borrow mine."

"You have one?" asked Scorpius. Why would anybody keep a creature like a lazarunium? It sounded disgusting.

"Lazaruniums are pretty rare nowadays," explained Madame Slope. "Muggles tend to bring them to animal shelters when they find them and hardly any survive the muggle veterinarians' treatment. It's costum that, if you use a lazarunium to train, you keep it safe for the rest of its life. They are easy to care for. All they need is a small cage and a little grass now and then. Mine is still in a good condition and you can borrow it if you promise to feed it well."

The boys agreed and the matron went to fetch the creature. The lazarunium looked like a very battered guinea pig. Its fur was covered in blood and Al could only guess its colour. He thought it was brownish, but it could as well be grey or green.

"This is Bella," the nurse introduced the small creature. "Bella, these are Albus and Scorpius. They will work with you for a while."

"What are Bella's magical properties, apart from the wounds?" asked Al.

"I'm glad that you ask," smiled Madame Slope. "Lazaruniums are highly magical. They can vanish things."

"Vanish things?" Scorpius sounded very uncomfortable. "What if Bella vanishes my homework?"

"They only vanish things if they are very unhappy. Feed her a litte grass and perhaps a slice of apple as a treat every day and your homework will be safe," the witch smiled. "You can keep Bella for as long as you need her."

The boys took the lazarunium to their dormitory and Scorpius tried a healing spell first. One of the wounds on the creature's back glowed for a moment, but other than that nothing happened. Al was a bit worried that the spell might hurt Bella – how could anybody name an ugly creature like that "beautiful"? – but the lazarunium continued sniffing the slice of apple Scorpius had put into the cage earlier as if nothing had happened.

"You try it!" ordered Scorpius.

Al obeyed. He looked at the book that lay on his pillow once again before he waved his wand and cast his spell. The wound glowed like it had for Scorpius.

"This is more difficult than I thought," sighed the dark-haired boy. His blond friend agreed.

They spent the rest of the evening practicing, but all they accomplished was that the wounds glowed longer. After two weeks of unsuccessful effort, Scorpius went to Bertram for help. Between their work on healing spells, homework and spending time with Rose and Circe, they had reached the breaking point.

Bertram asked them to meet him at an empty classroom near the common room. When the boys arrived, the seventh year was already waiting for them. He looked at the cage Scorpius was carrying curiously.

"Wow!" he cried when he saw what was in it. "Where did you get a lazarunium?"

"We asked Madame Slope," Al explained.

"You asked and she gave you her lazarunium? Wow, it must be cool to be the son of the Man Who Killed Him!" Bertram looked at the small magical creature longingly. "I never thought I'd see one before I can start at St. Mungo's."

"Can you show us how to cast a healing spell or not?" Scorpius asked in his no nonsense voice.

"Of course!" cried Bertram. "I wouldn't miss the chance to work with a lazarunium!" He explained the wand movement first and Al could see where they had gone wrong. They had missed the small flick to the left before the counter clockwise circle.

Bertram cast the spell on Bella and watched with satisfaction as the biggest wound on the creature's back closed. Al was the next to cast and this time the wound he had aimed at closed; not as quickly and smoothly as Bertram's but it closed. Scorpius succeeded two minutes later.

The boys continued their practice over the next few weeks before they returned Bella to Madame Slope.

"Show what you learnt!" the nurse ordered when they handed over the small creature.

Al took Bella back and set the her down on a free bed. He concentrated and then healed one of the wounds on the lazarunium's back.

"Well done!" cried Madame Slope. "Five points to Slytherin for successful extracurricular studies! Now you, Mr Malfoy!"

Scorpius earned another five points easily. Proud, he went to find Rose to tell her about it. Al snickered and returned to the dungeons. It was too early to meet Circe.

-x-

Two hours later found Al pacing at the back of the unused classroom near the statue of Hironimus the Hopeless, his and Circe's favourite meeting point.

Circe was late.

Al checked his memory, again, trying to figure out whether he had gotten anything wrong, but no. They had agreed to meet at eight. That way they could both do their homework before they met. Al was caught between worry and anger. It was not like Circe to miss a meeting without at least a message, and how dare she not come! How dare she have something more important to do!

Al was in the middle of an internal rant, when Circe rushed in.

"Here you are!" she panted. Had she run all the way from Gryffindor Tower? "I'm sorry! I was at the hospital wing. I tried to send Scorpius for you, but he wouldn't leave Rose's side."

Rose? "What happened?" Al practically flew to Circe's side and grabbed her hands. It was good to feel she was there and seemingly unhurt.

"Oh, it was dreadful! Scorpius had come to pick her up at the tower and they were going for a walk, when a piece of plaster came down from the ceiling! I ask you! Don't they have spells on that castle? Rose was hit by it and there was so much blood! Madame Slope says Rose was lucky that Scorpius was there and started some basic healing chants at once!"

Al set out for the hospital wing at once, pulling Circe with him. The girl didn't object. Rose was not only Al's cousin, but also Circe's best friend after all.

Rose looked terribly pale and the fact that her head was heavily bandaged strenghtened the impression of sickness. Scorpius sat on the edge of her bed and held her hand. Al was not sure Rose even realised it. By the looks of her, she had been given some sort of calming potion.

James and Lily were standing at the foot end of the bed; both looked very worried.

"Al!" squealed Lily when she spotted her brother. "Oh, Al! It was dreadful! There was so much blood!" Al let go of Circe and wrapped his little sister in a comforting hug.

"Were you there? Were you hurt?" he asked, worried.

"I was just returning to the tower to do my homework," sobbed Lily. "I saw it happen from afar. I thought Rose was dead! Only when Scorpius chanted that spell did I realise that she was still alive!"

Scorpius was nearly as pale as Rose, but he looked also a bit proud. He had kept his nerve when Rose was hurt, and had used what they had learned.

Madame Slope let the children stay for a little while before she sent them off to their houses. Al pecked Circe on the lips when they had to part. Poor Rose! Al felt a bit bad about being glad that it had not been Circe who had been hit.


	35. Suspicions

"This is not a good year," said Enrico when Al and Scorpius told him and Vern about what had happened. "Your parents must be going crazy with an injury in the family every month."

"Do you think there's something wrong with so many injuries? I mean, there have always been plenty at Hogwarts," Al asked.

Enrico shrugged. "I just say it's strange that there are so many within your family."

Al looked at Scorpius and Vern questioningly. "He's right," said the Malfoy heir, "it's odd that your family gets hurt so often. We should look into it." Knowing Scorpius he was not going to give up before he knew whether there was anybody to blame for Rose's injury.

"Look into it?" echoed Vern. "Don't you think we should tell Professor Slope if we have a suspicion?"

"We have a mere feeling that something could be amiss," Scorpius scrambled under his blanket, "that's not enough to go to Professor Slope."

The boys spent the next weeks making a list who had been injured, when, where and who had been present. There was no pattern behind the accidents they could see. It was nearly Easter when Al told the boys about Dad's injury. (He still didn't feel good about telling them the ministry's head auror had been injured by one of his children.)

"You held that information back?" cried Scorpius. "Are you mad?"

"I don't think it's that important," Al said defensively. They were sitting near the lake, watching the squid play with a ball somebody had thrown into the water.

"Not that important?" Scorpius gaped at him as if he had sprouted an extra nose. "With one piece of information you got our number of suspects down to two! Whoever is behind the attacks, it's either you or James!"

"I know it's not me and I really don't think James would injure anybody on purpose," Al defended his brother.

"Not on purpose!" agreed Scorpius. "What if one of you is under Imperius or something?"

Enrico looked up from the book he was reading; he was still catching up in some subjects. "But Al and Scorpius were both hurt!"

"They could have hurt themselves to look unsuspicious. Al, we need to find out how to detect Imperius!"

Al snorted. "Yes," he said sarcastically, "why don't we go to the library and tell Madam Pince that we want to study unforgivables? I'm going to meet Circe." He got up and set out for the castle.

"Oh yes, go and snog Circe when we need your help," cried Scorpius.

"Leave him be," said Vern. "If he's under Imperius, he may have order not to help finding out about it."

Scorpius had to admit that this made sense.

-x-

It's needless to point out that the boys had not the slightest chance of getting any book on the unforgivable curses from the school library. When they tried to even find out where they were kept, Madam Pince looked at Scorpius suspiciously and asked "How do you know there are Unforgivables?" She said 'you' in the same tone people usually use to describe their kitchen garbage or to tell how they stepped into dog muck wearing their favourite shoes.

Scorpius blushed crimson. It was hard to be reminded that Malfoys still were not trusted, especially since he himself had never given Madame Pince a reason to think but the best of him. He was a diligent and hard working student!

"My father told me about them. He's an auror," Al came to his friend's aid.

"Of course he would know," smiled Madame Pince. "I'm sorry, dears, the books you are asking for are out of bounds for all students under the age of 15."

"Thank you, Madame," said Al and led Scorpius away by his elbow. The blond was seething with anger. "Did you hear that!" he cried when the door had closed on them. "She treats me like a criminal and you are 'dear' when you ask the same!"

"I heard her," Al acknowledged, "and I know it is unjust, but I'm afraid we won't be able to change it now. Better try and think what we can do! Shall we ask Bertram?"

"I'd rather not," Scorpius shook his head as he lead the way back down to the dungeons. "What if you're really under Imperius? Everybody would mistrust you!"

"You're right," sighed Al. "So what can we do?"

"I'm sure the Malfoy library holds plenty of texts on, ah, spells." Scorpius ducked as if he expected Al to lash out at him for admitting it.

"I can ask Dad," offered Al.

"We have to be careful," said Scorpius. "What if Vern is right and you are under Imperius to not find out about being under Imperius?"

"I feel like myself," Al pointed out stubbornly.

The blond shrugged. "I don't know whether a victim of Imperius would know being under the spell. You know what? I ask Father about how to recognize Imperius and you ask yours about how the victim feels."

They did as Scorpius had suggested over the Easter holidays. Dad glared at Al suspiciously. "Who told you about Imperius?" he asked.

"Uhm, some older students were discussing their defence homework in the common room. They seemed to know quite a bit about it, but they did not know whether the victim realised they were under a spell. The NEWT students ended up quarrelling," lied Al. He was certainly not going to tell the head auror that practically every Slytherin knew about the Unforgivables from a young age. Many Slytherin students had deatheater relatives and, according to Scorpius, you could not discuss the past without mentioning the most terrible curses wizardkind knew.

"I see," said Dad. "Well, I was under Imperius repeatedly when we had that deatheater professor," (Al gasped), "and I always knew that I was under a spell. But then I was the only one who could throw the curse off. You'd have to ask Uncle Ron or Auntie Mione."

Al did so at Gran Molly's Easter party and was told off for bringing up such a dark topic at a merry family gathering by Auntie Mione and informed that, no, you could not tell you were under a spell by Uncle Ron.

"What is this about?" asked James as he stepped beside his younger brother. Auntie Mione was slapping Uncle Ron pseudo-playfully. She tried to make it look like harmless bickering, but Al could tell she wanted to hex Uncle Ron. "Yes," echoed Rose. "What has Dad done now?" She watched her father hide behind Uncle Charlie. The dragon tamer laughed and stepped aside to let Auntie Mione get her victim.

"Did he steal the cake?" Hugo sounded worried.

"No," Al smiled at his younger cousin. "He told me about magic she thinks I'm too young for."

"What magic?" Hugo asked curiously.

Al snickered. "I'm a Slytherin! Do you really think I'd tell you? If she thinks I'm too young, she certainly doesn't want you to know! She'd have my hide if I told you!"

James laughed good-naturedly. "Were you in Gryffindor, you couldn't wait to tell us."

Al shrugged. "Were I in Gryffindor, I probably hadn't found out a thing from Uncle Ron and there'd be nothing to tell." He grinned cheekily at his brother.

"Are you saying we're dumb?" roared James.

Al laughed and ran. The children chased each other around the orchard until Gran Molly called them to the meal.

-x-

"Dad would not let me take the book to school," growled Scorpius right after he had sat down beside Al on the Hogwarts Express.

"He let you look at it?" asked Al.

Scorpius nodded. "I tried a Duplication charm. It set an alarm off. Dad nearly ripped my head off, but," he grinned, "I think he was quite proud I could do that charm. Grandfather showed me how to do it properly, but by that time, Dad had spelled half the library so that I could not even touch the books."

"But you looked at it? What do you remember?" Al insisted eagerly.

Scorpius pulled a small booklet out of his pocket. It was bound in bluish leather and a delicate silver pattern covered the spine. It looked very expensive. "Grandfather's Easter present. He says eggs are for the plebs." The blond blushed when he realised that Al had probably got tons of Easter eggs. "He's a bit snobbish," he added in a small voice.

"I'm sure they have your grandfather's picture beside 'snobbish' in the dictionary," agreed Al. "What did you find out?"

"Actually his picture is beside 'pureblood'," snorted Scorpius and Al was not sure whether the blond was joking. "Here!" Al noticed that the blond had to press his index finger on one of the small silver circles on the book's spine before the pages would fall open. Scorpius had covered several pages in his neat, small handwriting. The colour of the ink matched the leather.

Al gasped. Scorpius had noted down not only the incantations for all three Unforgivables, but also the wand movement, or rather the fact that there was no particular one. All you had to do, was point your wand, speak the words and really mean them. Any idiot, the boy realised, could cast an Unforgivable as long as he was hateful enough.

The booklet was snapped closed when the compartement door slid open. Vern and Enrico came in with the girls in tow. Scorpius stuffed it back into his pocket and nudged Al gently to make room beside him for Rose. Al didn't need to be told. He rather wanted to sit with Circe than with Scorpius anyway.

It would have been nice to reacquaint themselves with the girls properly, but the compartment was simply too public. So all Al got was a peck on his lips as a greeting and then all he was allowed was hold Circe's hand. Vern left shortly after the train had left London to find Juliet and Enrico left not much later, muttering something about being an odd man; Al didn't really listen.

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade Enrico was spotted with Vern and Juliet, holding a blonde Ravenclaw girl's hand.

-x-

The teachers were putting the students through their paces after Easter. The exams were drawing nearer and every teacher seemed to think they had to excel in his or her particular subject. It was May before Al and Scorpius found time to study the bluish booklet again. There was a lot of information in it, but it didn't tell how to recognise whether a person was under Imperius.

"We need somebody who knows about Unforgivables and doesn't care that we are too young to study them," said Scorpius.

Al rested his chin on his hand. "I don't know who we could ask. We'd need somebody ruthless. In my family they are all noble Gryffindors."

Scorpius nodded. "I know." Suddenly he smiled. He pointed at Al's chest. "You know one Slytherin! An ex-deatheater!"

First Al didn't understand, but then he grinned as well. "Severus!"

-x-

Al called ('Vocate!') his namesake the next evening. Scorpius kept Vern and Enrico occupied at the Common Room to make sure Al could interview the former headmaster undisturbed. Severus Snape appeared at once.

"Al," he said kindly. "What have you been up to? I haven't heard from you for a while."

Al smiled. "You could have come to me whenever you want," he reminded the portrait in his silver locket. "I wore the locket all the time."

Tiny Snape made a dismissive gesture. "You're a young boy. You don't need a murky painting pestering you."

"I like our conversations!" protested Al. "And you are not murky!"

Snape snickered. "I've been called worse and most of the time they were right. Why did you call me?"

Al explained their problem. He tried not to sound too interested.

"You think your brother is under Imperius?" asked Snape when Al had finished his explanation. "Why didn't you go to a teacher?"

Al looked at the portrait from under his lashes. "We, uhm, we were not sure whether it wasn't I who was under Imperius. If you know a spell or something, Scorpius will try it on me first."

"You should go to your Head of House!" insisted Snape. "And there is no spell. That's why so many deatheaters claimed they had been imperiussed after the first war, because there is no way to prove that they were or were not."

"Is there any other way than a spell?"

"Hm, I never tried it, but I guess Legilimency could tell. It's not a very common ability though," mused Snape. "And it would take you years to master it even if you had the aptitude. – And if it runs in the blood there's no way that you have any talent for mind magic."

"Are you insulting Dad again?" snapped Al. Snape and Dad got along better since Snape's portrait had spent some time with the Potters, but the truce was rather fragile.

"I'm sorry if it sounded insulting," the portrait said earnestly. "I only wanted to point out that your father has many talents, but mind magic is not one of them."

"So we cannot find out whether any of us is under Imperius," Al mused, resigned.

"Not that, but you may be able to find out whether you are not," said Snape. "There is a spell to prove that you were not touched by mind magic. You can't prove that your suspicion is right, but you can prove if it's wrong."

The spell was complicated. It was not the incantation (Voluntatem revelatum!), but the wand movement was certainly the most complicated Al had ever tried. The spell didn't distinguish between mind spells, it only showed whether a person had been subjected to any, be it Imperius, Obliviate or Amnesia; and, Snape warned him, it made no difference between spells used yesterday or ten years ago. It just told whether your mind had been touched by magic.

Al had to practice for two weeks and to call Snape thrice more. The former headmaster agreed that Scorpius learned the spell, too, in order to enable him to test Al. The boys worked hard on the new spell although they had lots of regular work to do. After two weeks, they finally succeeded to test each other. Al called Snape immediately. They performed the spell again and the portrait confirmed they had done it correctly. A soft green halo appeared around both boys and Snape explained that that meant their minds were untouched by magic. If it were different, the halo would be lavender.

-x-

Al could hardly wait to cast the spell on James. He hated suspecting his brother of hurting the family. It would be a relief to finally know for sure, no matter what the result. Nevertheless the boys didn't hurry. They had to get James alone, or everybody else would be in danger if James was under a spell that ordered him to fight if he was found out.

The opportunity arose only during the last week of the school year. James was sitting near Hagrid's hut, resting against a rock with a huge tome open in his lap.

"I'll go to him and cast the spell, you stay behind as backup," said Scorpius.

Al shook his head. "I'll do it. I'm his brother, he trusts me. I'm not sure what he'll do if you point a wand at him."

Scorpius nodded. "You're right. I'll be the backup."

Al waited until Scorpius had gone a small way to the side so that he was no longer in James's plain view before he made his presence known to his brother.

"James," he cried with fake merriment. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" James sounded a little irritated. "I have to revise Herbology! I think I mixed up tulip leaves and hellabore in Potions! Mum will kill me if I don't get decent marks. It's my OWL year next year!"

"Tulip leaves and hellabore? Now, that's bad luck!" Not that that had ever happened to Al. The two plants were different enough in their shape, smell and properties. "I guess you were distracted? What happened?" Al sat beside James.

"I had a row with Annabelle the other day."

"Annabelle? I thought you haven't been seeing her since your first year?"

James glared at Al angrily. "Thanks to you, Lily knows about Annabelle and she gossiped about it at the common room! Annabelle didn't find it funny! She thought I had bragged!"

"I'm sorry to hear that. I thought Lily'd know better than go and gossip family secrets," Al replied earnestly.

James snorted. "It's not exactly a family secret."

"But it is!" protested the younger Potter brother. "She shouldn't have told! There's a difference whether I tease you or make you the laughing stock of your house! – Did she tell about the part where you were caught?"

"Of course. Nobody knew until then who had lost those points. What are you doing out here, little brother? Don't you have to study? What exam is your next?"

"History of Magic; and if I have to remember one more goblin name, my head will explode," Al grinned lopsidedly. "I found a new spell. May I show you?"

James nodded and closed the book. "Woah! Wait a minute!" he cried when Al pointed his wand at him. "What does it do?"

"It gives everybody a glowing aura," lied Al. He'd have to cast the spell on a larger area or James would be suspicious, but then maybe this was a good idea. That way James would never learn what Al had actually done if it turned out that James was innocent. Al waved his wand.

James glowed the same green as Al.

"That's nice," said the older Potter. He admired his arms. "Though a bit complicated for that little effect, don't you think?"

"That's what I was thinking," agreed Al. He could have danced with happiness. James was not the one who had hurt the family! His brother had not been made the tool of some crazy evil-doer.

"Oh look!" continued James. "It's different for girls!"

Al turned around and paled. Lily was approaching them. And she was glowing lavender.


	36. Exorcism

Lily had her wand out with surprising speed. She summoned her brothers' wands to her before either of them made the tiniest of moves in his defence. It was not only the speed, though, that came as a surprise. When had Lily learned summoning charms? James had only learned them this year (and teased Al mercilessly with them).

"Back to the castle!" Lily ordered and her voice lacked the usual sweetness. "Move!" Al hoped the girl hadn't seen Scorpius, but his hope was squashed when she shot fiery sparks at the blond Slytherin. "You too!"

Lily shooed the boys back to the castle, towards the Great Hall. James tried to run when they entered the castle and she hit him with a spell that left an ugly burn on his left arm. "Don't try that again!" the girl ordered. "I don't really need both of you!" She then pointed her wand at Scorpius. "Find a teacher and tell them I have those two at the Great Hall. I will talk to no other than Molly Weasley!"

There were only a dozen students at the Great Hall at that time of the day with the sun shining brightly outside. Lily got rid of them with some obviously very painful hexes. She banished the house tables and made the boys sit down on the floor. With a start Al realised that he was sitting on Dad's brass memorial plaque.

Lily noticed the small jump of surprise. "Yes," she snarled. "This is the place were your good-for-nothing father killed the hope of wizardkind. How fitting that I will get my revenge right here!"

James paled and Al was sure that so had he. Hope of wizardkind? Lily must be under the influence of a deatheater!

"Who are you?" asked James, being a true Gryffindor he faced the problem regardless of the danger he might put himself in.

Lily fired a spell at him. "Shut up, boy!"

The boys waited in silence. Certainly Scorpius had found a teacher and informed them! Most likely the headmistress and Dad were informed by now.

Ten minutes later, there was a loud knock on the heavy doors of the hall.

"Who's there?" cried Lily.

"Molly Weasley!"

"Come in, but only you!"

The door opened and Gran Molly came in. She had her wand out, but held it pointing to the floor. Lily didn't seem to care that she had it.

"Hello, bitch." The smile on Lily's face was a parody of the girl's normal expression

Gran Molly paled. Al was puzzled. True, the elderly witch was certainly not used to be addressed in such a manner, but she had dealt with worse in her life, hadn't she? He understood when his grandmother finally responded.

"Bellatrix Lestrange!"

"Indeed," chuckled Lily. "I've been lingering in this place for years and years, waiting for my revenge! I wanted to take the boy three years ago, but then he mentioned his sister and I thought I could wait a little longer. Isn't it fitting that I have this little girl when I couldn't have your daughter?" She chuckled again.

"Let her go, it's me you want!" cried Gran Molly.

"I don't think so. You see, since I've taken up residence in your sweet granddaughter's body all those months ago, I've grown stronger and stronger while her spirit got weaker and weaker. Soon this body will be mine! I will live again and then I can carry out my master's plans!"

There was a flash of spell light so bright that Al had to close his eyes. When he opened them, Lily was lying in a heap on the floor and Dad was folding his invisibility cloak.

-x-

Dad brought Lily to the hospital wing at a run. Gran Molly and the boys followed on his heel. Mum, the headmistress and Professors Slope, Longbottom and Hagrid were waiting for them with two men in auror uniforms. Madame Slope shooed them all aside to give Dad room to lay Lily on a bed.

"It wasn't Imperius, she's possessed!" cried Dad.

"Possessed?" asked one of the aurors. "By whom or what?"

"The spirit of Bellatrix Lestrange! She said she was killing Lily's spirit to take over her body permanently! I had to stupefy her to stop her." Dad stepped aside to give Madame Slope access to Lily.

The adults save Madame Slope and the headmistress gathered some steps away from Lily's bed and started discussing the situation in urgent whispers. Al and James stood and watched in silence as the mediwitch performed spell after spell on their little sister. At one point she nodded at the headmistress and the older witch called for an elf who returned holding a delicate silver instrument only moments later. The headmistress put it on the bedside table and touched it with her wand gently.

Smoke wound its way up from the tip of the instrument in a snakelike manner. The impression was even furthered when it forked like a serpent's tongue. One thread of smoke was strong, the other weak. McGonagall – her worried expression reminded Al that the Potter children called her Auntie Minerva in private – touched the instrument again and the two unequal whisps of smoke changed colour, the strong one black and the weak one white.

"She told the truth," she cried over to the discussing group. "She's already stronger than Lily!"

Al and James exchanged worried glances.

"That rules out removing her with a spell," sighed Dad. "The spells take out the weaker spirit. Possession normaly doesn't go unnoticed for so long."

"What can we do?" asked Mum. Al had never seen her so worried.

"There's a potion," said one of the aurors.

The other one shook his head. "You know that Stubbins loves obscure theories, boss," said the other auror. "He even investigated on muggle exorcisms! You can't trust him with your daughter's soul!"

"I read of a potion that could help, too," professor Slope chimed in. "It was in one of those old books that were damaged during the battle!"

"Unless any of you has another suggestion, we have to find out about that potion!" Dad had switched from worried father to head auror in an instant. "Professor, you get the book, Ginny, help him. Stubbins, get whatever source of information you have here, now! Millhouse, go to the Department of Mysteries and ask Alonso Perkins whether he has any suggestions to make. Professors, I ask you to investigate in your area of expertise whether there is a way to remove Bellatrix Lestrange from my daughter's mind and body. Minerva, we should move this to your office. We could ask the former headmasters. Madame Slope, I leave my daughter in your hands until we have found a solution."

"You better hurry, Mr Potter," said the matron. She sounded very worried. "The evil spirit is fighting your spell. I monitor her, of course, and strenghten the magic when needed, but your daughter won't survive that much input of stunning magic for much longer than six hours."

"You heard Madame Slope," Dad barked at the assembled witches and wizards. "Hurry!"

The group left the hospital wing at a run. Only Dad, Gran Molly and the boys stayed behind with the headmistress and the nurse. When Dad and headmistress McGonagall set out for the office, Gran Molly and the boys followed. Dad opened his mouth as if to object, but when he saw the worried faces, he nodded and held out his hand invitingly.

Once they had reached the office, Dad informed the former headmasters about the situation after the headmistress had asked them to assist in the case. The paintings listened with interest, two of them with worry.

"Why did she ask for Molly?" asked the portrait of Albus Dumbledore and Al could tell by Severus's expression that the older headmaster had beaten him only narrowly at the question.

"I killed her," Gran Molly answered matter-of-factly, "after she tried to kill my daughter."

Dumbledore chuckled. "I always knew that there was more to you than the obvious. I should have known that you would beat us all when your children were threatened. So, Bellatrix is out for revenge."

"She wants to take my granddaughter when she couldn't get my daughter," confirmed Gran Molly. Al found it difficult to picture the kind witch killing anybody.

"Do you know of a way to remove Bellatrix from Lily's body?" Dad interrupted urgently.

Dumbledore looked at the small board holding fragile looking silver instruments. "I see you already used the soul revealer. What did it show?"

"That there are, indeed, two spirits in Lily's body," Dad sounded desperate. "and her own is the weaker one."

"Hm, I don't know of a spell that would help," said Dumbledore. He looked at his co-portraits for help.

"There was a spell we used once in my time," said a witch in very oldfashioned robes. "But I would not recommend it. It removed the possessing spirit, but left the possessed insane."

"I heard of it!" cried a very slim wizard win plain grey robes. "There was a controverse whether insanity was better than possession!"

"My great-granduncle made some changes to the spell!" cried a red haired witch. She covered her mouth with her hand and blushed.

"Did he make it work?" asked Dad.

The witch shook her head.

"He didn't or you don't want to tell me?" Dad sounded impatient.

"Gladys, this is not the time to be shy," scolded Dumbledore. "I will find a way to hex you if you don't tell what you know!" added Snape.

"He was more interested in the insanity part," muttered the red haired witch. "He perfected that spell to Cruciatus. It's not something I'm proud of," she looked at Dad with large, fearful eyes as if begging him to understand why she hadn't given the piece of information freely.

"Any other suggestions?" asked Dad.

"Exorshnaps," said Snape.

"My daughter is possessed by a crazy dark witch and you want to talk about liquor?" cried Dad.

"Your ignorance never ceases to amaze me, Potter. I will, however, make allowences for your distress about the little one and explain it to you," Snape glared down at Dad from his painting, but there was no real malice in expression. Al suspected the former head of Slytherin was trying to call Dad's attention off his fear for Lily. "Exorshnaps is a complicated potion which will drive the foreign spirit from a body. It takes a master to brew it. And a hair of the foreign spirit."

"You mean to tell me I need a hair of a witch who died nearly twenty years ago in order to get rid of her spirit?" asked Dad in disbelief. Al and James exchanged once more worried glances.

"That, or a hair of a close blood relativ."

"Scorpius is a blood relativ of Bellatrix Lestrange, isn't he?" cried Al. "I'm sure he will help!"

"He is," said Snape, "but not close enough. It would be better to get one of Draco's. He was her nephew."

"I have no idea where Draco is," Dad shook his head. "He travels a lot."

"Then you better find out where he is. His son will not be close enough."

Al was up in an instant. "I'll ask Scorpius!" He set out for the dungeons at a run, but he didn't need to go far. The blond was lurking in the corridor to the headmistress's office.

"Scorpius!" cried Al. "We need a hair of your father to brew a potion to save Lily!"

"A hair of my father?" asked the blond. "Why would that help?"

"She's possessed by Bellatrix Lestrange! We need a hair of a close blood relative!"

"I'm her blood relative," Scorpius pointed out. He raised his hand as if to pick one of his hairs.

Al shook his head. "No! You're not close enough! We need your Dad!"

"Father is in Egypt and won't be home for another week." Scorpius explained.

Al's shoulders dropped. Lily was lost! "Come," he said, defeated. "You have to tell Dad and perhaps they can use your hair."

Dad listened to Scorpius seemingly patiently, but a twitch of his fingers now and then gave away how nervous he was.

"If Dad's hair is better than mine," Scorpius ended his report of his father's whereabouts, "why don't you ask Grandmother? Bellatrix Lestrange was her sister."

Dad and Snape's portrait looked at each other. "Why haven't we thought about it?" their expressions seemed to say.

"Is she still alive?" Snape spoke first.

"Of course," cried Scorpius, "and I'm sure she'd love to help."

"She loved her sister dearly," the former headmaster pointed out.

"She chose the Light once," said Dad. "She will choose it again." After a nod of permission from the headmistress he kneeled in front of the fireplace and contacted Malfoy Manor. He was invited through when he stated it was an emergency and off he was.

Albus Dumbledore asked James and Al to retell how they had found out about Lily's possession. Al and Scorpius were praised for mastering the Voluntatem Revelatum spell, but scolded because they had not gone to a teacher. When it got too much, Scorpius revealed who had told them about the spell and they listened to the headmistress, Aunt Molly and a good dozen of paintings blaming Snape for not informing the headmistress.

The turmoil only calmed down when Mum, professor Slope and the aurors arrived at the office within seconds from each other. Dad returned five minutes later and another five later it was agreed that the Exorshnaps potion was the only chance they had. The good thing was that Dad had one of Lady Narcissa Malfoy's long blonde hairs in a small silver box. The bad thing was that it took a potions master at least ten hours to make the potion.

"I will of course do what I can," promised Professor Slope, "but I don't think I can do it in time for young Lily to be saved."

"What," asked James, "if we help you? Can you brew it faster with help?"

"There are steps than can be taken at the same time," confirmed the resident potions master, "but they are complicated. I doubt any of you has the ability it takes to be of help. We'd need another potions master."

"But we have another potions master!" cried Al and pointed at Severus Snape.

The portrait raised his hands. "As much as I'd love to assist in the destruction of Bellatrix Lestrange, I have no hands to chop or stir."

"Choose your hands!" cried Al. He gestured over the group. "We can use my locket and you can direct an other. It may not be as fast as if you had hands, but it will certainly speed up Professor Slope's progress."

"I choose you then, Al," said Snape.

"What?" cried Professor Slope. "He's only a third year!"

"The locket is bound to Al's magic and I will not allow it to be bound to another. With my help, Al will do well."

The portrait sounded final and they had no time to lose. Al opened his locket and Snape walked out of his painting on the wall into it. On the way down to the dungeons, the former headmaster gave Dad a list of things they were going to need for the brewing. Things like 'properly skinned shrivelfig' and 'finely crushed lizard scales' were on his list. Al realised that the late potions master was telling Dad which steps of the preparations could be done by other people than him and professor Slope.

Professor Slope led the way to his private lab. It was rather small, so Al was the only one allowed in. Dad put up a small table beside the door on which he was going to leave the things the brewers needed.

"Start a fire under a silver cauldron," order Snape as soon as they had entered the room. Al obeyed immediately. The portrait guided him through setting up a base of water, phoenix ashes and oak resin.

"This is not the first time you work together," Professor Slope stated as he watched Al stir the base of their brew.

"Severus tutors me occasionally during the summer," admitted Al.

"Don't gossip, add three drops of reindeer bile," ordered the portrait.

This time Professor Slope did as Snape had ordered since he was already holding the small bottle of reindeer bile. "You know the recipe by heart?" he asked.

"Of course," growled Snape.

"But it's such an uncommon brew! Why would you learn something like that by heart?" asked Professor Slope. He added a drop of a light blue liquid Al could not identify.

"You would learn it, too, if you were serving an unforgiving megalomaniac," snarled Snape. "Somebody check whether Potter has the shrivelfig ready."

The potion they were making was the most complicated Al had ever seen or heard of. Being a third year, he had never made anything that required more than a dozen ingredients, but this potion consisted of hundreds of ingredients. Some of them were even added in small portions with other ingredients added in between. Sometimes Professor Slope had to take the stirring rod because they needed a stirring technique Al didn't know yet.

The Head of Slytherin's admiration for Severus Snape grew the longer they worked. Not only did the portrait know the recipe by heart, he also knew which steps he could expect from Al and which were too advanced for a third year. They added the last ingredient – Lady Narcissa's hair – after a little more than six hours.

Professor Slope filled the still hot potion into a small vial and set out for the hospital wing immediately with Al on his heel.

"Hurry!" cried Stubbins who was the only one left in front of the lab. "The mediwitch says the child is getting weaker and weaker!"

The professor sped up, if possible. They reached the hospital wing with flying robes and out of breath. Mum, Dad, James and Gran Molly were standing on one side of Lily's bed. Mum and Gran Molly were crying.

"I have to let her wake up," Madame Slope was just saying when her husband rushed up to her. "Another stunning spell will kill the child! Mr Potter you have to use your power to keep her in check!"

"We're here!" panted Professor Slope. "Be careful, it's still very hot!"

"We can't afford to wait!" cried Madame Slope. "I can repair a burnt throat and a life is worth a hoarse voice! Mr Potter?"

"Administer it!" cried Dad. "As soon as you deem it necessary!"

Al stood beside James, near the foot end of the bed. When his brother reached for his hand, he squeezed back. He gasped when Madame Slope opened the vial and poured the liquid into Lily's mouth although it was still steaming.

Lily must have been already half awake. She coughed and spluttered and tried to get the hot potion out of her mouth. "I know it hurts, child," cried Madame Slope, "but you have to swallow!" She poured another portion of the potion on Lily's tongue. The girl cried out and coughed again.

"Lily Luna Potter!" cried Mum, her voice thick with tears. "Do as the mediwitch says! Now!"

Lily swallowed the third portion of potion with an outcry of pain, but Al could not say whether it was from the potion or because of the spirit that fled from her body. A vaguely woman-shaped cloud, too transparent to be a ghost, rose from Lily's body. There was an eerie scream of rage that started in Lily's throat, then hoovered bodyless for a moment and then faded.

Al started when the cloud turned to Dad and Dad stood transfixed.

"Animam secluo!" shouted Snape from the still open locket. "Animam secluo, Potter!"

Never had Al seen his father like that. Dad just stood there and stared at Lily, who was clutching her throat, her face a grimace of pain. When Dad did not react to Snape's shouts, Al rose his wand and cast the spell.

The spirit cloud turned away from Dad towards Al.

"Again!" shouted Snape. "Don't let her possess you! Repeat the spell as often as you have to!"

"Animam secluo!" cried Al again and again. The spell was obviously too advanced for him. Each time he cast it, the cloud stopped only for the fraction of a second before it moved again and he had to cast the spell again.

Al must have cried the spell a dozen of times before Dad's auror reflexes finally kicked in. "Animam secluo!" the older Potter cried and the cloud was wrapped in a turmoil of sparks. There was the eerie scream again. This time it changed from rage to pain and then the spirit was gone.

The last thing Al saw before he collapsed was Madame Slope feed Lily a pain numbing potion.

Al woke to the sound of two men shouting. It were Dad and Snape, he realised.

"You could as well have killed him!" cried Dad. "I knew you were evil from the day I met you!"

"Everything would have been well if you had listened to me only this once! I never intended Al to use that spell!"

"Ah! Now it is my fault! I never thought you would stoop as low as to attacking an innocent child to get your revenge on my father!"

"This has nothing to do with your father! This has to do with your ineptitude and the fact that you need someone to blame! Admit it! It's your fault!"

"I didn't tell a thirteen year old to use a spell only one or two wizards in a generation can perform! You bloody idiot! Why couldn't you take your revenge out on me? Had it to be my son?"

"You forget that I love this son of yours! I love him so much I was deemed worthy to go on for this love!"

"You always were a liar! See, you even betrayed the afterlife!"

"Dad!" Al thought it was time to stop the two men before they tore each other's heads off. He opened his eyes although it was the most difficult thing he had ever done. Somebody must have cast a weight raising charm on his lids.

"Al!" Dad dropped the locket on the bedside table. "How do you feel, son?"

Somebody took Al's hand. Mum, he realised.

"Tired." Al whispered weakly. "Very tired!"

"That's because of the spell you cast. You are exhausted, dear." Mum had tears in her eyes and Al couldn't help but think that they were not honest with him, but he was too tired to ask. "Sleep a little more, Al."

"Don't blame Severus," muttered the boy before he drifted back to sleep.

-x-

When Al woke the next time, it was night and the ward was empty but for Lily who snored softly on the bed beside Al's. The boy felt hungry and thirsty. He had skipped both, lunch and dinner, the day before with fighting the spirit of Bellatrix Lestrange.

He sat up in his bed and reached for his wand. "Lumos!"

Nothing happened.

-x-

Madame Slope came running a moment later. There must have been a spell to alert her when one of the children awoke.

"You are awake! Good!" the mediwitch cried. She summoned a house elf and a little later a tray with soup and bread was resting on Al's knees. The boy ate greedily. He hadn't realised how starved he was!

"I tried to light my wand," Al said when he was chewing on his second roll.

Madame Slope sighed. "It didn't work, did it? That spell you used was very advanced. You shouldn't have been able to cast it at all and you did so over and over. It exhausted your magic, my dear boy. I'm sorry."

"What do you mean, it exhausted my magic?" Al felt panic rise in his chest.

The witch sat on the edge of his bed and put the empty soup bowl on the bedside table. "You used too much of your magic at once. The little that is left is barely more than in a squib."

Al swallowed hard. A squib! But he was a powerful young wizard! "Is the exhaustion permanent?" he asked hoarsely.

"I can't tell," sighed Madame Slope. "There are only three cases like yours documented."

"And?" Al wished the woman would stop to treat him like a child and tell him what he had to expect.

"Two never regained their magic. The third got part of it back." Madam Slope looked down at her hands. "Of course," she added with forced cheerfulness then, "we know more about magical illnesses nowadays than they did when those cases occurred. Your parents will take you to St Mungo's tomorrow where they have experts for cases like yours. You may very well be as good as new by tomorrow evening."

"How can they be experts, when there are only three cases?" asked Al.

Madame Slope chuckled sadly. "Never try to cheer a Slytherin up with a lie," she muttered and ruffled Al's hair. "You must believe that everything will be well," she added sternly. "Everything is lost when we lose hope, isn't it?"

Al nodded. "I think I will sleep some more." He lay down and turned his back on the matron. The witch tucked him in and after checking on Lily returned to her office.

-x-

Mum and Dad took Al to St Mungo's right after breakfast the next morning. The healers spent the whole day examining the boy with only a short break around noon to give him time to eat. When they were finally finished, Al could not think of a body part they had not prodded, a body fluid they had not analyzed or a spell they had not cast at him.

When the whole ordeal was over, chief healer Smythewick informed Mum and Dad – Mum was crying again – that there was nothing they could do for Al. All they could do was wait.

"If you are lucky, young man," the healer said merrily and Al wanted to slap him, "your magic will recover all by itself. You have to be patient though."

"Madame Slope said there was a case documented when the wizard got his magic back," said Al. "How long did it take to recover?"

The healer smiled lop-sidedly. "Twenty-five years," he said and for the first time his voice held something akin to regret.

-x-

Mum and Dad took Al home from St Mungo's and he was grateful that he didn't have to go back to Hogwarts. What good was a magical school for a squib? At home, he put his now useless wand into the drawer of his desk.

There was one thing he had wanted to do all day. Al sat on his bed.

"Vocate!"

It came as a surprise when Snape answered immediately. Had he waited in the locket the whole time or had the call worked?

"It worked," replied the small portrait. "The pull was weaker than usual, but I felt you calling. I was told that your magic is not entirely gone. That's why they hope you will recover. I'm sorry. It's all my fault."

"It is not!" cried Al. "You wanted to prevent that evil spirit from possessing Dad. It was I who cast the spell instead. It was my decision."

"You didn't know enough about that spell to make a decision," said Snape. "I should have told you to let her possess you. Your father is more powerful than you. He could have made you drink the potion even if she controlled your body. Your father was the only one present we could not allow her to possess."

There was a short silence. What was Al to say? He had weakened his magic beyond recognition for nothing.

"Will you come and talk to me even if I remain a squib?" he asked weakly after a little while.

"Of course I will! I wouldn't want to stop talking to you even if it turned out you had been a muggle all along!"

"Thank you, Severus! I think I need a little sleep now." He watched the portrait nod and step out of the locket to return to its rightful place at the office of the principal at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Al lay down and cried a little.

-x-

End of Al's third school year.


	37. Summer in Greece

**Interlude: Summer holidays **

Lily returned home the next day. She was too distraught to sit her final exam and the school governors had decided to let her proceed to her second year without it. If a possession was not reason enough for special treatment, nothing was.

James stayed at Hogwarts to sit Transfiguration and Herbology. He had missed History of Magic due to the circumstances, but was pardonned for it as well. He and Dad agreed though that it was not wise to miss exams one year before his OWLs.

"You got a full pardon for your missed exams, too," Mum said soothingly when Al asked. "You will be able to proceed to your fourth year. They even granted you extra points on potions for your assistance with Lily's potion." She smiled.

Al shook his head. "I can't even light a candle with magic!" Granpa Arthur had spent hours explaining how things were done the muggle way. "They won't even permit me back to Hogwarts; and what would I go for anyway?" He hung his head. He would never see his friends again! And Circe! Would Circe want to be a squib's girlfriend? Certainly not. Al knew some squibs, but not a single one of them was involved with a witch or wizard.

"Al," Mum said seriously. "You have to remember that your magic is not entirely gone. The healers say there is a chance it will recover and there is still enough left to make magical objects respond to you. You may not be fit to attend Charms or Transfiguration at the moment, but there is no reason to abandon your magical education entirely. You can still study Herbology, Arithmancy and some others."

Al wanted to believe Mum desperately, but what good was it to know about magic when he couldn't use it properly. Wouldn't it be better to learn what he needed to live in the muggle world? Sometimes he sat at his desk with his wand in hand, but the wood felt no longer special to him. The pulsing magic within the rod was gone, it no longer felt warm with magical energy to the boy.

Kreacher tried to cheer his young master up by cooking all his favourite dishes. Lily complained – her voice sounded still a little hoarse and it probably would stay that way for all her life – when the elf served blueberry pancakes for the third time in as many days. She shut up though when Mum shook her head at her.

"Lily is right, Kreacher," Al said weakly. "You should not always cook the same. I like chocolate chip pancakes, too." Chocolate chip pancakes were Lily's preferred breakfast treat. The girl beamed at him.

On Friday, Mum, Dad and Lily went to London to pick up James at King's Cross. Al refused to go with them. It would hurt too much to see his friends who had taken another step towards being fully trained wizards and witches and know that it was something he could never accomplish.

"The boys asked about you!" James announced when he entered the house. Dad was levitating his school trunk behind him. "You really should have come. They are very worried!"

Al made a non-committal noise and retreated into his room.

James followed a quarter hour later. "Is it true?" he asked and dropped on Al's bed heavily. "You lost your magic?"

Al shook his head. "It's still there, but so weak I can't do the simplest spell. I'm as good as a squib." He had to fight back the tears. It was even harder to say it out loud than accepting the fact in secret.

"Splendid!" beamed James. "If it's still there, it can recover. For a moment you had me really worried."

"They say the last case who recovered after this kind of magical exhaustion remained a squib for 25 years." Al sat beside his brother. "And they are not sure I'll recover at all!"

"Of course you will!" cried James. "You are a Potter! Don't you know what Auntie Minerva always says about us? Sheer dumb luck is on our side!"

Al snorted. It was a running gag between the Headmistress of Hogwarts and Dad. When he was younger, Al had thought the witch took Dad for a fool. Only when he was older, he understood there was humour behind the insult and neither he nor James had ever discovered where the joke originated from. Al suspected Uncle Ron to know, but the suspicion had never been confirmed.

James tried his best to cheer Al up, but more often than not his attempts left Al more depressed than he had started. Especially when the boy discovered that his broomstick no longer obeyed him was hard. It was the only time Al cried before he reached the sanctuary of his room.

Two weeks into the summer holidays the Malfoys turned up. Dad's jovial greeting of Mr Malfoy and the fact that Kreacher had enough delicacies to feed an army ready gave away that they had been expected by everybody but Al. Mrs Malfoy and Mum sat on the patio and watched little Druella walk around on wobbly legs. Mum oohed and aaahed in all the right places when Mrs Malfoy talked about her little girl and the witch beamed with pride.

Al tried to escape to his room after a short greeting – this was not a zoo and he was not a creature caught to be stared at for Merlin's sake! – but of course Scorpius would not let him suffer quietly. The blond followed him upstairs and since Al had no magic there was nothing he could do to keep him out of his room.

"Leave me alone!" Al lay on his bed, back turned on the intruder.

"Certainly not!" Only Scorpius could sound arrogant as hell and worried at once. "I've come all the way from my family home to see you and see you I will!"

Al snorted. "I'm sure it was really difficult to hold onto your father's arm while he apparated."

"Actually we used a portkey. Dad says Druella's too small to apparate. What have you been up to?"

"What have I been up to?" Al was so taken aback by the question that he forgot he was hiding from gaping wizards and turned around. "What have I been up to? My magic is down to naught!"

Scorpius shrugged. "You never were allowed to use it during the summer holidays, so it can't make much of a difference. So?"

Al gaped at his friend. "I can't ride a broomstick!"

"Of course," sneered Scorpius, "you can inform me about your activities by pointing out what you didn't do. I expect it to be a rather lenghthy tale then." He scrambled up on the bed and leaned against the headboard. "I want you to know that I did not go to Norway to catch snorkaks using only bird seed and a thimble. Go on, your turn; what else did you not do?"

Al stared at the blond in disbelief. He had lost his magic and Scorpius made jokes? "I can't…"

"Oh," interrupted Scorpius, "did I mention that I did not turn my grandfather's wardrobe turquoise?"

"I couldn't have even if I had tried!" Al screamed at his best friend. Why couldn't the blond see how useless Al was.

"Why would you turn Grandfather's robes turquoise? Are you mental?" asked Scorpius. "I suspect him to have a spell to prevent that on his wardrobe and although I'm fairly sure that he'd be willing to forgive me had I chosen to turn his clothes turquoise, I cannot see him tolerate you do such a thing. Grandfather is horrible in his wrath; I seriously doubt even your father could withstand him. You should not even have thought about doing such a thing."

"I never thought about changing your grandfather's robes turquoise!"

"And a good thing you didn't. I didn't hex the moon square."

It was certain now. Scorpius had gone mental. "I don't think you are alright, Scorp,…" Before Al could suggest he inform his father, the blond spoke again. "I didn't cause that earthquake in Japan the other day. Your turn; what else did you not do?"

Finally Al understood. He settled beside the Malfoy heir and closed his eyes. "I didn't ride a giraffe through the city of London."

Scorpius laughed. "A pity! It would have made a nice picture, especially had you chosen to do so naked. I didn't…"

The boys spent the whole afternoon discussing what they hadn't done recently and Al didn't think about his lost magic for one minute.

-x-

All too soon Mum came to Al's room to inform Scorpius that his parents were ready to leave. Druella needed a bath and a nap. The boys followed her downstairs and although Al was sad that Scorpius had to leave he felt better than he had since he had woken up to hear Dad and Severus quarrel.

Mr Malfoy looked at Al pityingly when the boy politely said his good-bye. "Really, Potter, if there is anything I can do to help…" he looked at Dad earnestly.

"All we can do is wait," sighed Dad. "It would be nice if you'd let your son visit from time to time. Al looks better today. Scorpius does him good."

Mr Malfoy smiled sadly. "We'll be leaving to our summer residence in Greece tomorrow. If we stayed here I'd of course agree to the boys visiting."

Mrs Malfoy nudged her husband softly. "Why don't we invite Al along?" she asked. "That way the boys could spend the whole summer together."

"That's a splendid idea!" cried Mr Malfoy. "What do you say, Potter?"

To Al's utter disbelief, Dad shook his head. "We haven't seen much of Al all year and I really don't feel comfortable with letting him go when he's so vulnerable."

"Dad!" whined Al.

Mr Malfoy chuckled. "It seems the boy doesn't share your qualms. I promise we will take good care of him. And you can come with the rest of the family for your holiday. The house in Greece is big enough."

"Are you sure?" Dad asked after a glance at Mum, who seemed to have nothing against Al going to Greece with the Malfoys.

"Merlin, don't be ridiculous, Potter. You've known me for how long, 25 years? When have you known me to extend an invitation when I didn't mean it?" Mr Malfoy snorted.

"To be honest, I've never known you to extend an invitation," growled Dad.

"Now you're hurting me," Mr Malfoy clutched his chest dramatically. "We have been visiting, have we not?"

"Well, in that case, when shall I drop Al where?" Dad smiled.

The boys cheered. "Now we can turn Grandfather's wardrobe turquoise!" cried Scorpius.

"If you attempt that, I will kill you personally!" growled Mr Malfoy, but there was no malice behind the threat.

-x-

Mum helped Al pack a suitcase after dinner. James and Lily sat on Al's bed and nagged how unfair it was that Al was allowed to go to Greece when they weren't.

"I told you we are going, too, in August!" hissed Mum. She was losing her patience. Where were Al's swimming trunks?

-x-

Dad took Al to Malfoy Manor early the next morning. He wore his auror robes in which he looked very impressive. Al blushed when Dad asked Mr Malfoy to take an unbreakable vow to protect his son, but Scorpius whispered it was tradition among pureblood families when a child was given into the care of others for longer than a day or two.

"I will take the vow," Scorpius's grandfather stepped forward. "My son will not stay with us the whole time but will return to England for business occasionally. I will be with the boys the whole time."

Dad accepted with a nod. He extended his arm and the older Malfoy gripped it. The younger Mr Malfoy drew his wand and pointed it at the linked arms.

"Will you, Lucius Malfoy, watch over my son Albus as if he were your own while he stays with your family?" Dad asked.

"I will protect him with my life," Mr Malfoy replied earnestly. His son waved his wand and a fiery tongue of magic wrapped itself around the linked arms. When it had dissolved, the men let go of each other.

Dad wished Al a good time with the Malfoys, kissed his forehead and then left for work. Halfway down the path to the gates, he disapparated with a faint pop. Al thought it rather unusual for the Malfoys not to extend their anti-apparition wards to the gates.

"Impressive," muttered Mr Malfoy as he shut the door. His father agreed with a curt nod.

-x-

Mr Malfoy ordered a small army of house elves to bring the family's luggage to their summer house in Greece – Al had never seen so many, so expensive suitcases in one place – before he held out a portkey to Mrs Malfoy and the boys. Lord Malfoy and his wife had their own portkey.

If Al had thought they were going to stop somewhere in between England and Greece, he was mistaken. He should have been used to the fact that the Malfoys never did anything the common way. The boy didn't even dare consider how much a non-stop portkey from England to Greece must have cost.

Greece was incredibly hot. They had landed only some steps from ornate iron gates. Mr Malfoy ushered Scorpius and Mrs Malfoy inside. Al had to stop at the gates and Mr Malfoy cast a spell to enable him to pass the gates whenever he wanted.

"What spell was that?" asked Al. Mr Malfoy had muttered it in a low voice and Al hadn't caught the exact wording.

Mr Malfoy smiled. "Even if you're not capable to perform magic actively at the moment, you will understand that I won't give away which spells I use to protect my family."

"I shouldn't have asked. I apologize," Al said sincerely.

"No harm done. Come in, the heat is killing me," Mr Malfoy urged his guest.

The whole estate must have been subjected to cooling charms. The temperature in the garden was warm, but by no means as hot as outside. The garden was magnificent. Other than the Malfoys' garden at the manor, the trees and bushes were not trimmed but allowed to grow naturally. There were flowers, mainly in shades of blue and in white with a little yellow in between here and there. White stone benches stood between blooming bushes near a white stone fountain.

The house itself was barely smaller than the manor though not as elegant from the outside. It was surrounded by the garden on three sides, the fourth leaned against a steep mountain flank.

Scorpius waited for Al at the door. "How do you like it?" he asked excitedly.

"It's marvellous!" was all Al could gasp.

"Yes, isn't it!" cried Scorpius. "Of all our summer houses, this one is my favourite! Come, I'll show you our room!"

"Wo-ho, young man!" cried Mr Malfoy. "What do you mean by 'our room'? Albus will have his own suite!"

"Dad!" whined the blond boy. "We want to spend the holidays together! Why would Al want his own suite?"

"He will have it," insisted Mr Malfoy. "Everybody needs a little space for himself. Nobody forbids you to spend the night in each other's rooms if you so desire. But no guest of mine will be forced to share a room!"

"Can he have the one beside my rooms then?" Scorpius asked eagerly.

"Of course! Show him where it is!"

Scorpius led the way upstairs. On the first floor he pointed to the left. "Mother and Father live on the right, Grandfather and Grandmother on the left. We reside upstairs!" He continued up another flight of stairs with Al in tow. He opened the first door on the left when they reached the second floor.

"This is my room." The 'room' was as huge as the one he occupied at home at the manor. Several doors led off the bedroom. Al suspected a bathroom, a study and a walk-in cupboard. The room was done in light shades of blue and beech wood. "Yours is beside mine."

Scorpius pulled Al back into the corridor by his sleeve and through a door a little to the right. Al's rooms were an exact copy of Scorpius's, only where the blonds were blue, Al's were pink. "Grandfather had them done when Druella was born," the Malfoy heir shrugged apologetically. "She's too small to use them yet. I can ask Father to change the colour."

Al was not sure he wanted to live in the middle of pink – Was that a fairy fluttering around the headboard? – for two months, but he was sure that it would be considered impolite to ask for a new room to be changed. "I don't mind the pink," the boy said bravely. "I can stay in your room when it gets too much, can't I?"

Scorpius laughed. "For all that I'm concerned you can stay at my room all the time. It will be great! We can talk and play all the time! Grandfather gave me a book about Chinese dragons. We can read up on them and have a head start next year."

"I'm not sure I will be allowed to take Magical Creatures," sighed Al. "When I'm unable to cast spells, I can't keep dangerous creatures in check. I'd be a danger to my classmates."

"Firstly," Scorpius said sternly, "your magic will recover; and secondly, they won't forbid you to attend a class when you can't handle part of the curriculum. They'll find a solution for the problem, you will see."

Al hoped that Scorpius was right with all his heart. Magical Creatures was one of his favourite classes. Hagrid was an old friend of the family and his lessons were never boring. Calling dangerous creatures 'a part of the curriculum' was an understatement though. Al could not remember the half-giant to bring a harmless creature to class ever.

There was not much to do in their rooms. The luggage was to be brought and unpacked by house elves and neither boy felt like playing inside when they had just reached a foreign country. Scorpius led the way outside – he showed Al the dining room on the way – to a big patio. The possibly biggest sunshade Al had ever seen hovered above a white table and a group of ornate white chairs with blue cushions.

"I'll show you the pool!" cried Scorpius.

The pool turned out to be a small lake between the house and the mountain flank. A veritable waterfall was thundering down the rocky cliff into the 'pool'. There was even a small boat waiting at the shore.

"We aren't allowed to go in yet," said Scorpius. "Grandfather insists on personally renewing the protective spells before I'm allowed in every year. He says he doesn't want his most precious to drown." The blond blushed. "I know how to swim, of course," he added hastily.

Al chuckled. "My grandparents are a little overprotective, too. Are there fish in the pool?"

"Fish and turtles," confirmed Scorpius. "We have fishing rods. Father loves to fish in the pool."

"You weren't planning to go in before I was here," a deep voice said from behind the boys. Mr Malfoy senior had arrived.

"No, Grandfather, I was just showing Al where we can swim later."

Lucius Malfoy stepped behind his grandson and lay his hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'll cast the spell now, shall I?"

Scorpius nodded eagerly and Al watched, a bit jealous, how the grandfather showed the blond the wand movement required for the anti-drowning spell. The man repeated the incantation slowly thrice and Scorpius repeated it. Al had to repeat it, too, as Mr Malfoy insisted. There was not much point in that since he'd probably never be able to perform the spell – or any other – but it was easier to just say the incantation than point out the futility of teaching him spells.

When Mr Malfoy was content with the boys' pronunciation, he actually cast the spell. Nothing happened other than a flash of white spell light, but Al knew that they were perfectly safe in the lake from now on. The water itself would protect them from drowning.

"Why don't we have lunch with your parents?" Mr Malfoy asked and ushered the boys back to the patio. The younger Mr Malfoy, both Mrs Malfoys and Druella were already waiting for them. House elves were putting the final touch to a meal of Greek delicacies.

Scorpius explained what everything was to Al in the course of the meal. Al would never have guessed that wine leaves were edible let alone delicious, but they were. The boy knew olives and feta, but here in Greece they tasted much better than at home.

Mr Malfoy allowed the boys to taste a mouthful of red wine each. Scorpius's mother glared daggers at her husband, but the grandparents seemed to find it perfectly normal that their grandson and his friend would try alcohol.

"It's important that they can tell good wine from bad. That's a matter of education," Lady Narcissa said soothingly. "It's not as if they could get drunk from one sip."

"And there's no danger we're going to sneak to the kitchen for more," gasped Al. He made a face. The wine was much too harsh for his liking.

"It's sweeter than that Beaujolais we had at Easter," said Scorpius. "But also heavier?" He looked at his grandfather questioningly.

"Exactly," Lord Malfoy said not without pride. "I take it you don't like it, Albus? What's your favourite wine? You prefer white?"

"I've never tried wine before," admitted Al.

"See! The Potters raise their children without introducing them to alcoholism!" cried Mrs Malfoy. She fed Druella a spoonful of mashed vegetables.

"It's not my fault that Potter has no pureblood pride," snarled Mr Malfoy. "My son will learn how to move in polite society. A sip of wine will hardly make him a drunk."

Scorpius shrank a little in his seat as his parents continued to discuss the matter. He made a point of reaching for his glass of water and taking a big sip. "Dad was only teaching me!" he chimed in when his mother continued to nag at his father.

"Really, dear, there's no reason to be upset," said Lady Narcissa. "Draco underwent the same education and he turned out very well." Her son smiled smug.

Mrs Malfoy knew when she had lost, but she huffed silently for a little while longer.

Dessert was a little too sweet for Al's liking. The cake was a sticky concoction of nuts and honey, but since he was a guest, he ate the whole piece he had been handed.

-x-

Al was surprised by how ordinary the Malfoy family life turned out to be. Lord and Lady Malfoy, whom he had always found intimidating, were not very different from his own grandparents. They were doting on their grandchildren and Al – who was as good as a grandchild for the time being due to the vow – every waking minute.

Lord Malfoy went to the pool with the boys every day. The wizard seemed to have no own plans, for he always asked what the boys wanted to do and agreed to whatever they suggested. They swam, they fished, they sailed and they even built a raft the muggle way (apart from the fact that Lord Malfoy conjured the logs and ropes).

Lady Malfoy spent more time with her daughter in law and her little granddaughter than with the boys, but more than once she sat at the beach and watched her husband entertain the teens.

Scorpius's mother spent most of the time with Druella, but when the little girl took her nap, she joined them in the water more often than not. Mr Malfoy – Draco Malfoy – had to leave for business frequently, but when he was able, he joined the family.

The younger Mr Malfoy must have been spoiled by his parents as much as he himself spoiled Scorpius. He always had his own plans and although he invited the boys to join him, he always insisted on doing what he wanted. He even threw a veritable tantrum when he wanted to fish and the boys scared the fish away with their games in the water. Lord Malfoy banished the boat his son was standing in, making thus clear who his desire to spoil had moved on to. "Let the boys play," he ordered. "Their holiday is short enough."

"My holiday is even shorter!" spluttered the younger Malfoy when he resurfaced.

"You've had holidays when you were younger. It's their turn now."

-x-

By the time the Potters joined the Malfoys – miraculously, the house had acquired a third floor over night – Al had a healthy tan and nearly forgotten about the problem with his magic. Things hit back home the moment Dad asked how Al felt.

"Fine," Al muttered, ignoring the unworded question behind the harmless inquiry.

"That's good to hear, son," Dad smiled. Al thought he looked a bit worried.

Lily curtsied when Lady Narcissa came to greet them. "Thank you for providing the means to save me, Madam," the girl said earnestly. "I owe you a debt."

"It was nothing, child," replied the blonde witch. "My sister was blind in her worship of her Lord. I realised too late how far gone she was and I nearly lost my only son. I could not let her return."

Lily hinted a bow as Dad had undoubtedly taught her to do before they had come to Greece. Lady Narcissa had given part of her body to save Lily, which was considered the greatest of sacrifices by the Wizarding World even if it had only been a hair. The witch deserved gratitude and respect for what she had done. The fact that Narcissa Malfoy had saved Lily made her as good as a member of the family.

Al smiled. The Potter and the Malfoy family were getting closer and closer. First his friendship with Scorpius, then Dad's guardianship of Druella and now Narcissa Malfoy was connected with Lily for life. It was a good thing. It might even make a marriage between Scorpius and Rose acceptable when the time came.

The Malfoys granted the Potters a day to settle in before they started the programme they had planned for their guests. There were outings to the seaside, trips to the cities of Chania and Heraklion – Chania had a lovely wizarding shopping street – and visits of various sights. Al liked the old palace of Knossos, Mum and Lily found the white windmills in the mountains charming and Dad and the two Misters Malfoy were beside themselves when they visited Samaria valley and its many magical places. Even Lord Malfoy, who behaved less like a grandfather and more like an aristocrat now that the Potters were around, showed excitement when they stood in front of the cave where the ancient sorceress Circe had spent her youth.

The most exciting outing though was to a small dragon reserve up in the Idi mountains. They had only about a dozen of dragons there, but they bred Greek Dwarfflyers and the children were allowed to pet a young dragon! Scorpius beamed. "I've been waiting for them to have young small enough to still touch ever since Grandfather took me here for the first time! Finally!"

All too soon the summer was nearing its end and the Potters as well as the Malfoys had to return home. James and Lily were excited about returning to Hogwarts, but Al was worried. His magic had not recovered yet.


	38. Bertie

**Year Four**

Al had not felt that insecure even as a first year. Back then, he had been shy and afraid that he would not be as good a student as the other children, but this new situation was worse. He knew already a lot of magic, only he had no hope of ever being able to actually perform it. The headmistress had sent a note along with his Hogwarts letter saying she wanted him to attend all classes with his house mates. If he could not cast the spells, he could at least learn the incantations and the theory behind them. That way, Auntie Minerva had pointed out, he wouldn't lose a year if his magic recovered during the school year.

The boy did not look forward to sitting classes and not being able to do the course work. He still was unable to cast the simplest spell and an attempt at brewing in the cellar of the Malfoy summer house had shown that his magic was too weak to support brewing.

The sorting was normally of great interest for all students, but this year, Al had trouble following it. Were those Ravenclaws over there already gossiping about him? Did the older Slytherins support him? He was hardly going to win any points for the house this year and thanks to him the house team was one chaser short.

"It's Hugo's turn!" Scorpius nudged Al with his elbow. "Watch!" The blond was more excited about his girlfriend's brother's sorting than Al, who was Hugo's cousin.

"Gryffindor," muttered Al before Professor Longbottom had put the sorting hat on Hugo's head. "They all go to Gryffindor." He was of course right. Hugo hopped down from the three-legged stool and took his place at the Gryffindor table.

"You aren't still bitter about being the only Slytherin in the family?" asked Scorpius.

Al shook his head. "I've found fierce friends in Slytherin," he said with pride. "But," he added in a smaller voice, "sometimes I think it would be easier to to cope with the whole magic issue if I had a little Gryffindor foolhardiness."

"Gryffindor bravery may be better short term, but Slytherin slyness will win in the end," Scorpius lectured and Vern and Enrico agreed from the other side of the table. Both boys had immediately promised to help Al out with their magic if he needed it.

After the feast, the Slytherin fourth year boys retreated to their dormitory to share some secrets about their summer.

Enrico told them about his summer conquest, a muggle girl, in detail. According to him, Andrea Jones was the most magnificent being to walk the earth, a true beauty, witty and totally devoted to her new boyfriend. Vern, Scorpius and Al agreed politely although they were aware that each of them knew at least one girl who bested young Miss Jones easily.

"Speaking of girls," smirked Scorpius, when Enrico finally had finished his laud, "has anybody seen Felix?"

"Juliet says his father got a new assignment in Poland. Her cousin was promoted to take over the job Mr Fameworth did last year," Vern informed him.

"Good for us, bad for the guys at Durmstrang," snorted Scorpius.

"I really don't envy him," muttered Al. "It must be bad to go to a new school every year. Just imagine making friends and having to move away so soon after you settled in."

"That's certainly not fun," agreed Scorpius. "Nevertheless I'm glad he's gone."

"I wonder why his parents didn't leave him here," said Vern. "This is a boarding school. He could have stayed even if his parents had to move to Poland." He shrugged.

The boys' conversation was interrupted by a knock and Professor Slope opening the door. "Potter," the head of Slytherin said kindly, "a quick word."

Al got up from his bed and followed the teacher to his office.

"Sit," ordered the professor and pointed at a comfortable looking chair in front of his desk. "Potter," he continued after a short pause, "the headmistress informed me that your magic has not recovered yet. You know what we expect of you in class. In potions, you can do everything but hold the stirring rod. You will team with Malfoy, as always, and you will do everything that he does. The only restriction is that he has to be the one to stir your potion. Don't be mistaken though. I will provide a nonmagical liquid of the same consistency and you will demonstrate that you know the stirring techniques needed for the potion."

"Thank you, Sir," Al replied when the man looked at him expectantly. "That way I will learn as much as the others. It's more than I dared hope."

The professor acknowledged Al's thanks with a curt nod. "Potter, I want you to come to me at once if any student, be it a Slytherin or a member of any other house, gives you trouble. There is no cowardice in coming for help when you need it. Only foolish Gryffindors would try to go against magic without being able to use it themselves. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir," Al said earnestly. "I'll come for help if anybody hexes me." He just hoped the situation would never arrise.

"Good," nodded Professor Slope. "Return to your dormitory. And good luck for the school year, Potter."

Al smiled weakly. He was going to need that.

-x-

By lunchtime the next day, Al wanted to crawl up the walls in frustration. He had spent a whole hour watching Scorpius hex Vern and Enrico. Professor Flitwick had shown them mood changing charms and since Al could not participate in the practical part of the lesson, the blond had teamed up with the other two Slytherin boys. Since Scorpius was a better spell caster by far, he ended up causing the others mood swings at will.

The next class after Charms had been Care for Magical Creatures. Hagrid had brought an augurey to class. All students but Al were allowed to pet the bird's soft feathers. When Al stepped forward to touch the beast, Hagrid stepped between the boy and the bird. "I'm sorry, Al," said the half-giant, "the augurey's talons hold a poison which is deadly for muggles and I really don't want to find out what it does to you."

It was simply frustrating, especially since Vern and Enrico never tired of telling Al how unbelievably soft the phoenix-like bird's plumage had been and Scorpius mentioned how he had felt the bird's magic throb under its skin.

Over lunch the boy calmed down a bit, but if he had thought he had seen the worst, he was mistaken. The afternoon lessons should have been safe, but on his way to Arithmancy he was cornered by Alice Dearborn, one of only two Hufflepuffs in the course.

"They say you are a squib!" she barked at the Slytherin. Scorpius stepped protectively in front of his friend. "It is true!" breathed the girl. Her eyes narrowed. "How come they let a squib attend Hogwarts? – Well, being Harry Potter's boy probably helps!" The girl glared at Al angrily before she stomped off.

Al hung his head. Was Alice right? Was he only allowed to stay because he was a Potter? The boy was so distracted that he answered three questions wrong and Professor Matrix took one point from Slytherin. Al felt like crying. Tolerating a useless housemate was one thing, but if he lost points too, why would anybody in Slytherin continue to support him?

-x-

"There's no need to stop breathing," smiled Madame Slope during Al's medical check. He had to come to the hospital wing every other week to let the mediwitch examine what was left of his magic. "Ah, here. Yes, I see. Mmh, no change…" The witch muttered as she cast spell after spell at the boy.

The diagnosis was no surprise. Al's magic was just as weak as it had been in June. Nothing had changed.

-x-

It was not before October that Al was hexed the first time. He could not tell who had done it, there had been too much of a crowd in the entrance hall when the spell hit the boy square in the chest.

The need to tapdance was overwhelming. Al danced at a speed he wouldn't have thought possible. Luckily Scorpius was there to cancle the spell or Al would have collapsed with exhaustion.

For a short time Al thought about trying to cope without help, but Scorpius would not have it. The blond practically dragged his friend to Professor Slope's office.

The professor awarded Scorpius five points for acting reasonably and then had Al tell him every tiny detail he remembered. Unfortunately it was not enough to find out who had cast the spell.

-x-

Lessons were not the only occasions when Al had to cope with his lack of magic. Hogwarts was a magical place, built for magical inhabitants. More often than not devices required the use of a wand: the taps in the bathroom, the toilets, there were doors without handles and sections of wizard space that were only accessible through magic.

It was embarrassing beyond belief, having to ask one of his friends to flush the toilet for him. He even needed Scorpius to take a shower! He just hoped that nobody from the other houses ever got wind of that. It was bad enough with the older Slytherins smirking at them whenever they entered the showers together.

By the end of November Al considered asking Dad to take him out of school.

-x-

By December, Al got a feeling that some teachers started to agree with Alice Dearborn (and an increasing number of students thanks to Alice's well-placed comments) that Al should not be allowed to continue his magical education. Even friendly professor Flitwick looked annoyed when he had to save Al for the umpteenth time from a badly aimed spell.

The only ones to stand by him unswervingly were his dormmates and his family and friends in Gryffindor. Al started to avoid socialising.

-x-

Al rolled on the floor in pain. This time, Alice had gone to far! She had hit him with a growing charm and his feet had become painfully big in his now too tight shoes. He tried to get the shoes off, but they were stuck and his feet were still growing! A scream left Al's mouth and then another. Alice chuckled.

"What have you done to him, Dearborn?" cried Scorpius as he rushed to Al's aid. "Finite incantatem!"

The short moment it took the blond to stop Al's suffering gave Alice a chance to hit him with a spell, and hit him she did. Scorpius collapsed. There was blood everywhere and all Al could do was shout for help!

-x-

"Drink that," Auntie Minerva pushed a cup of cocoa towards the boy. Al was sure it was spiked with calming draught. Merlin knew he could do with a dose. With a smile of thanks, the boy accepted the cup.

"I don't know why Alice hates me so much!" Currently the Dearborns were discussing matters with the girl's head of house, Professor Jones, who taught muggle studies. It had taken all the headmistress's influence and power to avoid the Malfoy men storming the castle. Alice faced expulsion after casting a cutting spell on Scorpius. Luckily the wounds were not very deep, but the blond had to stay at the hospital wing for at least three days. Medication had to be applied regularly to avoid scarring.

The headmistress looked thoughtful for a moment. Then she seemed to come to a decision. "Albus," she said, "I feel you deserve an explanation, but I have to ask you to never repeat what I'm going to tell you."

Al nodded and the witch continued. "Alice's twin brother, Eric, was born a squib. Her parents have decided not to send him to the muggle world, but to prepare him for a life among wizards. He is taught at home pretty much like you have been taught here for these past few months. He learns the theory of magic. They filed various petitions with the school governors to let Eric come to Hogwarts and study here with his twin sister. – You know about the special bond twins share, don't you?"

Al nodded. It must be dreadful for Alice to be seperated from her brother most of the year. "She's jealous," he muttered.

"In a way. Of course your case is very different from Eric's. You were not born a squib and there is a chance that you won't remain one." A plate of cookies was held out offeringly. Al took one and started nibbling. It was nice of Auntie Minerva to say there was a chance he'd get his magic back. It had been a half year, and nothing had changed at all.

-x-

With Scorpius in the hospital wing, Al avoided the other children even more than usual. The Hufflepuffs were angry at him, he could tell by their glares. Alice had been sent home. She was suspended until after the Christmas holidays. Without the blond's protection, Al was actually a bit scared. The holidays could not come soon enough.

Al had always considered Hogwarts huge, but now he realised that it wasn't. If it had been, it would have been easier to find a deserted place to hide away in between classes. At last, Al settled for a broom closet on the first floor. It was nice to be tucked away in the darkness. True, the caretaker's buckets and mops stank a little, but it was bearable and certainly better than being hexed.

When Al returned to his hiding place on the third day of Scorpius's stay at the hospital wing – Al had visited, but Madame Slope had insisted the blond needed some extra sleep – the small booth Al had made of buckets and packets of detergents was gone. The caretaker must have needed something from the closet.

With a sigh, Al started rearranging things. It was a bad thing he had to leave the door open in order to see, thus risking being discovered by one of the other students. Al paused when he found something very strange. There was a faucet on the back wall of the closet. Why would anybody put a tap into a broom closet? Al was puzzled.

Perhaps, he thought, a student had practiced spells in here and left the tap he or she had conjured? Then another question posed itself.

Did it work?

Unable to stop himself, Al reached out and turned the tap. First, nothing happened. Then Al felt a pull. He watched the tap widen and when he was sucked in, he screamed.

It felt a little like apparition. Al was sucked through the pipe. It was so tight, he could barely breathe. First he was sucked down, then a little to the right, then down again, left, forward, left, up, right,… Al lost track. When the boy thought he was going to lose consciousness, the pipe widened and he landed roughly on the floor of a dimly lit chamber.

Al tried not to panic. Where was he? And how in Merlin's name was he supposed to free himself without magic?

"Welcome!" a bodyless voice of a man cried. "You are the first to discover the Chamber of Secrets!"

Al looked around. Where did the voice come from?

"Over here! On the shelf!" the voice directed.

Al followed the voice and found a glass bottle which seemed to be the source of the light. A pair of blue eyes drifted lazily in the glow. They blinked and then stared straight at Al. "Welcome! You are the first to discover the Chamber of Secrets!" the voice repeated. A pair of lips appeared under the eyes and disappeared once the speech ended.

"I'm not!" Al replied insistantly. "My father discovered the Chamber of Secrets more than twenty years ago and prior to him, an evil wizard found it."

"Whoooo-hooooo!" cheered the voice and the reappeared lips gave a toothy grin. "I've won! Whoooo-hoooooo!"

"You have won?" echoed Al. He was puzzled.

"I made a bet," explained the voice.

"A bet."

"Yes, Sal and I did it all the time."

"Sal?"

"Oh, sorry. I think I'd better introduce myself. I'm Salbert Slytherin, younger brother to Salazar. You may call me Bertie. Everbody does. I know, Sal would be cooler, but Sal is short for Salazar."

"I never knew that Salazar Slytherin had a brother." Al looked at the bottle askance.

The eyes in the bottle drifted to and fro as if somebody was shaking his head. "Isn't that the fate of younger brothers? To stay in the shadow of the older one? You mean to tell me they haven't even acknowledged my name in history books? Sal got all the credit alone?"

"What was your bet?" asked Al.

The eyes blinked. "Ah, yes, the bet. You know when we built the castle to found our own school – Sal and I and our friends, Godric and Rowena, and Sal's girlfriend, Helga, Sal decided to build a secret chamber. He thought that every decent school needed a legend, a riddle, a secret. People love secrets. He thought it'd be good for business."

Al opened his mouth to ask a question – this was not what he had learned about the Chamber of Secrets – but the voice continued.

"We had a row. I wanted to build it, but that arrogant prat said he could do it better. – He always thought he was better. – So we ended up building one both, and we made a bet who could hide his better. I won! Whoooooo-hooooooo!"

"You won," nodded Al. "So, how do I get out of your chamber?"

"Ah, it's easy. Alohomora will do the trick. Point your wand at the door over there."

Al pailed. "I can't cast Alohomora! I don't even carry a wand!"

"Ah, yes. I see." The eyes grew wide. "I thought it was a good idea to trigger the tap to extremely low magic. But that could become a problem for getting out. I didn't think about that. – How come you don't carry a wand? Hogwarts is still a school for magic, isn't it?"

Al told the bottle – it was strange to talk to a bottle – how he had exhausted his magic and how he had been allowed to stay as a student, hoping he would recover.

"How long have you been like that?" asked the bottle – Bertie, Al remembered.

"Six months."

"Six months? They left you like that for six months? How barbaric!"

"There is no cure!" cried Al.

"Of course there is," insisted Bertie. "People exhaust their magic all the time. A little meditation and a simple potion and you'll be as good as new."

For the first time in months, Al dared to hope. "Really? You know how to recover my magic?"

"Of course I know how to recover your magic. I will have you know that I was a reknown healer in my time. Sit on the floor. What I'm going to teach you is a simple form of mind magic. Close your eyes."

Bertie guided Al through a basic procedure of clearing his mind. It was fairly easy since there was not much in the chamber to distract him. After an hour or two – it was difficult to tell the time in the secluded chamber – Al felt an unmistakable tingle in his chest. His magic awoke!

"Good," smiled Bertie. "Now take my wand. It's over there, in the niche. Conjure a piece of parchment and note down how to make the potion you will need."

Al did as he was told. A feeling of pure bliss washed over him when the wand obeyed him and turned one of his buttons into parchment. "Do you want me to take you with me when I leave the chamber?" he asked when he had read out the recipe twice to Bertie.

"Ah, you can't! I've manipulated time in here or I wouldn't have survived so long. If you take me outside, I'll most likely die immediately. I have to stay here, but you are welcome to visit any time."

"You manipulated time?" asked Al. A feeling of dread rose in his chest.

"Yes," confirmed Bertie. "It runs a little slower in here."

"How much slower?"

"I can't tell for sure, it's an experimental spell. I guess you've been here for at least a week."

"A week?" spluttered Al. His family and friends must be so worried! Without further ado, he pointed the wand at the door Bertie had indicated earlier and cast his spell.

-x-

There was clearly a search going on at Hogwarts when Al emerged from behind a protrait of Bertie the Bonkers in a barely used corridor in the dungeons. Hang on! Was this THE Bertie? Al lit his – Bertie's – wand and took a closer look. The protrait had blue eyes and wore a traditional healer's hat. Voices were calling out for him in the distance.

He must have been gone for more than a day for them to start a big search, Al realised, but not too long, because they hadn't given up yet.

"I'm here!" Al cried happily and was soon after wrapped in a tight embrace.

"Where have you been? We were so worried!" Dad kissed the top of Al's head. "We've been searching the castle for a fortnight!"

A fortnight? It had been less than three hours for Al!

"Minerva was going to stop the search at the end of the holidays. We were lucky we were allowed to stay for so long. – Expecto patronum!" A silvery stag errupted from Dad's wand and gallopped up the nearby staircase; to inform the other searchers, Al assumed.

Dad took Al to the hospital wing at once. By the time they reached it, Mum and Uncle Ron were already there. While Madame Slope examined Al, more searchers turned up. There was every single Weasley old enough to hold a wand, the Hogwarts staff, all Malfoy men and Lady Narcissa, Teddy Lupin and a good dozen of aurors as well as some of Al's honorary aunts and uncles. The hospital wing had never been so crowded.

"As far as I can tell," said the matron a little later and everybody listened with baited breath, "he's perfectly healthy."

The assembled searchers cheered, the Weasleys loudest and the Malfoys in a very dignified manner.

Al smiled. "Lumos!" he cried over the cheers and held up Bertie's wand. It lit obediently.

"Al!" cried Mum. "Oh Al, I'm so happy for you!" She hugged and kissed the boy, and hadn't Al been so glad he had some of his magic back, he would probably have found it embarrassing.

"Professor Slope, Dad," said Al once his mother had released her grip on him enough for him to speak, "I met a – well I'm not sure what it was, but he told me how to get my magic back to work. He said I needed to take a dose of this potion to stabilize it." He handed the parchment to Professor Slope, who was the resident potions master after all.

"I've never seen that recipe. It's simple enough and there's no potentially dangerous ingredient in it. It's your decision whether your son should take an unknown potion."

"I want you to analyze the potion properly before Al drinks it," said Dad and the Weasleys nodded in agreement.

Al shook his head. "Bertie said I have four hours to take the potion before my magic will fall back asleep. I trust him."

Dad and Mum glanced at each other. "I don't want to risk Al to lose his magic again," said Mum. Dad agreed.

"Why don't we ask headmaster Snape for his expertise," suggested Professor Slope.

Since it was a reasonable suggestion, Al called his friend and Professor Slope and his colleague discussed the potion. Finally, they agreed that it was harmless enough and professor Slope went to his lab to brew it.

In the meantime, Al had to tell how he had found the tap and been sucked into the secret chamber. There was a turmoil when he mentioned that Bertie was actually Salbert Slytherin, the founder's younger brother. The Slytherins present were especially excited that there might be a chance to talk to a contemporary and close relative of their house's founder.

The headmistress went to her office to notify her old friend Bethany Bagshot, a reknown expert for History of Magic, just like her great-aunt Bathilda.

When Professor Slope returned with the potion, Al sipped two spoonfuls like Bertie had advised to. When nothing bad happened, Madame Slope declared the boy fit enough to leave the hospital wing and the crowd went down to the Great Hall for dinner.


	39. Back

Since the students were to return in two days, it was decided that Al should stay at Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays. Scorpius, James, Lily, Rose and Hugo stayed with him. They played Exploding Snap together or Chess, but a lot of time was spent with Scorpius, Rose and James helping Al catch up on the practicals he had been unable to do in autumn.

The headmistress – Auntie Minerva in private, she reminded him – herself came to assist Al with his transfiguration practice. She corrected his grip on the handle several times before she asked: "Al, I seem to recall that your wand was a very dark wood. This one seems too light to be your own. Which wand is this?"

"Oh, I forgot!" cried Al. He had been using Bertie's wand ever since he returned from the chamber. He explained how he had acquired it.

"Better fetch your own wand. You are used to it and your results should be better with it. If you allow, I will take this one for the historians to examine. It will be, of course, returned to you when they are done. Salbert Slytherin himself told you to take it; that makes you the wand's rightful owner." She smiled.

Al ran all the way to his dormitory to fetch his own wand. Auntie Minerva was right. His own wand felt better. It pulsed with life at Al's touch as if it was a well-rested racing horse, eager to prove itself after a long period of inactivity.

The lesson went much better with this wand although it didn't feel the same as the boy remembered. Nevertheless Al caught up with the others easily.

-x-

The corridor of Bertie the Bonkers was closed for all students. Two days into the new term, a group of Unspeakables had taken residence in the tower next to the Devination department. The first things they had done was examine the broom closet where Al had been sucked into the tap. They could not find any tap, nor could Al.

The boy explained that Bertie had told him that the tap was triggered to extremely weak magic and the leader of the group, Unspeakable Mugtown, nodded deep in thought. "In that case," said the solemn grey-haired wizard, "we have to try to get in through the exit."

The Unspeakables conjured a barrier of solid stone to block the corridor with only a small door to admit them to Bertie's portrait. Al had to explain in detail how he had reemerged from behind the picture, in which direction the portrait had swung and for how long it had stayed open. Then Al was brought back behind the barrier and no longer allowed near the portrait either.

Al enjoyed being a true wizard once again. He was highly motivated to do well in his classes and gained a total of twenty points for Slytherin within a single week.

Ariadne offered him his old position on the Quidditch team back, but Medusa Melbrooks had worked so hard to fill in for Al that he didn't find the strength to ask his position back. "I tell you what, Adne," smiled Al, "you stick with Medusa for this year and next year, I'll apply anew."

Ariadne smiled. "That's good thinking. Algie and I graduate this year. There will be spots for you and Medusa next year. You could apply as seeker, you know."

"Maybe." Al hoped he wouldn't have to. There must be a growth spurt waiting for him sometime in the future! Lily was already a good inch taller than he. Well, at least Scorpius wasn't growing any faster than he.

It came as an especially nice surprise when Alice Dearborn came to Al after their first Arithmancy lesson and apologised for her behaviour earlier in the school year. She told Al about her twin in a soft voice and Al forgave her gracefully. He could, after all, imagine what it meant to miss a sibling. The fear for Lily he had felt back in June was still fresh in his memories.

The next few weeks went by without any major events. Al could not have enjoyed himself more. He went to lessons, learned new magic every day and in his free time, he played with his friends and family or hid away in an empty classroom with Circe.

The girl had supported him all through his ordeal. Al was aware that he had been difficult on more than one occasion and was very grateful for that support. He made sure that Circe knew just how grateful he was.

-x-

In the middle of February – heavy snow storms were howling around the castle – the headmistress called for Al. Unspeakable Mugtown and a young blonde witch who also wore Unspeakable robes were waiting for Al in her office.

"Young man," smiled Unspeakable Mugtown, "this is my colleague, Unspeakable Avery. We finally succeeded in opening the chamber. Unspeakable Avery made contact with Mr Slytherin. Since we came in through the wrong door, he's very suspicious. He refuses to work together with us unless you come and tell him we aren't dark wizards out to kill him. Therefore I have to ask you whether you agree to serve as a contact to Mr Slytherin for us."

Al looked at the headmistress for advice.

"I don't think I can allow that without Mr Potter's parents' permission." Headmistress McGonagall looked at the unspeakables sternly. Al was relieved. Dad would know what to do.

"We have to take into account," said Dad when he was informed about why he had been asked to Hogwarts, "that time itself runs differently down in the chamber. Al can't miss any more lessons than he already has."

"We can schedule him to go in Friday evening. If he stays no longer than an hour, he'll be back out by Sunday evening." Unspeakable Mugtown offered.

"Good," agreed Dad. "But I go with him."

"This hardly requires the presence of the Ministry's Head Auror!" cried the unspeakable.

"It doesn't," replied Dad in a cold voice, "but Al's father's presence is quite reasonable. Don't you agree?"

When Al told his friends about the conversation and how easily the unspeakables had submitted to Dad's wishes later, Scorpius laughed. "You don't know your own father! When we were looking for you, Grandfather suggested somebody might have shrunk you and try to take you home. Father and Grandfather suggested to search the leaving students. Your father took up post by the entrance. They confiscated more than five hundred banned objects in less than two hours! And he didn't even speak to them! He just stood there, glared and radiated power. He can be really scary, your father!"

Al couldn't but gape at the blond. Scary? Dad? Never! But then he probably wasn't Head Auror for nothing.

The following Friday, Unspeakable Mugtown took Al and Dad down to Bertie's corridor. The unspeakables had put up a veritable lab behind the wall they had conjured to close the corridor. There were shelves full of magical devices some of which Al could not even name. There was also a book case filled with huge tomes, a work table and a small potions lab in a corner. The portrait of Bertie the Bonkers was bathed in the soft light of several torches. Bertie seemed to enjoy the attention for he waved excitedly and poured himself glass after glass from a softly glowing bottle. Strangely enough, he did not speak. Al wondered whether that was the unspeakables' doing.

"Remember that you can stay only one hour if you want to return before the weekend is over," advised Unspeakable Mugtown. "Unspeakable Avery will go with you and keep an eye on time." The woman nodded affirmatively beside him. "We'd like you, young man, to convince Bertie to work with us. We want him to give us information about his time, about the magic he used to heal your magic and about the time spell he used. We'd like to find a way to take him out of the chamber to enable him to partake in everyday life."

"How can a bottle partake in everyday life?" asked Al, puzzled.

The unspeakable made a face. "Don't go funny on me, young man. Mr Potter, when you are ready."

Dad signalled he was and another unspeakable stepped up to them and cast several spells on the portrait. It swung open and they entered the chamber. Al noticed that Dad had his wand out.

"Hello!" greeted the bodiless voice of Bertie. "Is that you, Al?"

"Hi, Bertie! How are you?" Al wanted to go closer to the shelf on which Bertie's Bottle stood, but Unspeakable Avery stopped him. "Thank you for helping me escape from your chamber!"

"Well, I could hardly keep you here, could I? What good was my victory if there was nobody to carry my glory outside these walls?" The floating lips smiled before they disappeared. "Who's that?" Bertie continued after a moment. "I have seen the blonde, but who's that gentleman?"

"This is my Dad," Al made the introductions. "Dad, meet Bertie."

"Harry James Potter," Dad introduced himself properly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir."

"Salbert Slytherin," smiled the bottle. Instead of the small bow Dad had given, Bertie lowered his lids. "At your service, Sir. – Al, how is your magic? Did you manage to acquire the potion I told you?"

"Yes, my potions teacher made it for me," said Al. "They'd all like to know how the magic you used to recover my magic works. They don't have a cure for exhausted magic nowadays."

"Really?" cried Bertie. "But that's elementary magic! Every first year can cure magical exhaustion!"

"Well," Unspeakable Avery joined the conversation, "our healers can't and they'd love to discuss the case with you. Your expertise could be invaluable for our society."

"Really? Well, I made a vow to help the wounded and the sick. Who am I to decline?"

From there it was easy. Al pointed out to Bertie that things would be easier if he could leave his chamber and the bottled wizard had to agree. Dad – who had a head start with Bertie due to the fact that he had discovered Salazar's chamber first and thus granted Bertie victory over his brother – reassured Bertie that the unspeakables were trustworthy and trying to help. After an hour, Al and Dad left the chamber. Unspeakable Avery stayed behind to discuss time spells with Bertie.

Dad and Al went up to the headmistress's office in order to discuss things with the old witch. Minerva McGonagall was the principal of Hogwarts and she disliked that she had to let the unspeakables work in her castle independently.

"And it's really Salazar Slytherin's brother in that bottle?" asked the witch as she poured tea for Dad and Al.

"I don't know," admitted Dad. "He says he is, but it's not for me to find out whether it is true. They have historians to determine that."

"It would be really exciting if he was." The old witch smiled. She held out a tin box of shortbread offeringly. Dad took a piece, Al refused politely. "If it turns out he is, it may even prove a lucky chance that you exhausted your magic, Al. You'd go down into history books for finding the chamber."

Dad ruffled up Al's hair. "You'd be as famous as your old father. We'd be Harry and Al Potter, discoverers of Slytherin's secrets."

"You're not old!" Al leaned away from Dad. How embarrassing that he ruffled up his hair in front of the headmistress!

"Actually I am if you are too old to have your hair tousled," laughed Dad. "They are growing up so fast," he winked at the headmistress. Al blushed. He was going to be fifteen next summer! That was definitely too old to be treated like a baby in front of the headmistress!

The witch chuckled. "They do; but your father is right, Albus. You made a very important discovery there."

"I agree," Al's namesake made himself heard. "Who'd have thought that there were two secret chambers here at Hogwarts! It's amazing and both are linked to the Potter name now!"

"I find it sort of soothing that this Potter is at least a Slytherin," Severus said sternly. "I must admit I resented a Gryffindor finding Slytherin's chamber a bit."

"You never liked me," Dad pointed out. There was a slightly earnest note to his otherwise playful tone. "My house affiliation was always secondary to the fact that I was a Potter."

When Al returned to Slytherin later, Scorpius was waiting with his homework. Al had not had time to do it before he and Dad went to see Bertie. The blond once again proved what good a friend he was. He had stacks of books prepared in a quiet corner of the Common Room.

"It's a bit strange," said the blond as Al was leafing through 'A Guide to Plants of Wizarding Africa'. "For you, it must be barely three hours since we last talked, but for me it's two days. I wonder whether that time spell in the chamber changed your birthday."

"What?" Al looked up from the book.

"Well," Scorpius leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs comfortably, "technically you missed two days this weekend. You are not as old as your birth certificate says."

"You can't be serious!" cried Al. "Why would every wizard working with time spells change their birthday?"

"Time spells are not that commonly used. It wouldn't involve that much effort to keep track."

"I missed two weeks at Christmas," Al pointed out. "They would have let me know by now if that had changed my birthday." The Ministry always worked fast when it came to notifying wizarding citizens of legal issues.

"Speaking of Christmas," grinned Scorpius, "you are aware that you missed Christmas."

Al shrugged. "I got my magic back. That's worth it."

"Nevertheless. It's a pity you didn't get any presents this year."

-x-

A week later, Al was called to the headmistress's office on Sunday morning. He rolled his eyes. What was it now? The boy would have loved to spend a normal quiet weekend for once, playing soccer with his friends in Gryffindor, doing some last minute homework – especially that essay on crocus root for Professor Slope – and most importantly snogging Circe in some hiding place. They had discovered the joys of broom closets recently. Circe wanted some hands-on explanation on Al's discovery of the secret chamber and it turned out groping for a tap in the dark was a very interesting activity.

With a sigh Al got up from his seat. At least he had already finished breakfast.

"Do you want me to walk up with you?" asked Scorpius.

"That would be great." Al watched as the blond folded his napkin. "I wonder what they want now. I have a lot to do today!"

Scorpius laughed and smacked Al's back playfully. "Hide away with Circe?" He leaned closer. "She likes that new development in your relationship a lot!"

Al stopped short. "She told you?" he hissed urgently. He could feel himself blush.

"Of course not!" The blond pulled Al further up the stairs by his sleeve. "She told Rose," he added two staircases later.

"Single malt," Al gave the password to the gargoyle a little later. He didn't know whether to be angry or embarrassed. Circe had told Rose about what they had done! Al was so upset that he didn't even notice that Scorpius failed to stay behind by the gargoyle but joined him on the spiral staircase.

The door to the office opened before Al could knock.

"Merry Christmas!" a crowd of people cried cheerfully when he entered.

"Merry Christmas, Al," Scorpius added from behind.

There was a tree – in February! – and a pile of presents! Mum and Dad were there, his siblings, his grandparents, Circe, Rose and Hugo and their parents and Mr Malfoy!

"Scorpius brought it to our attention that you missed Christmas," explained the headmistress. "That wrong needs to be expiated."

The impromptu Christmas party was short. Everybody hugged Al and they watched him open his presents and then sent him off to enjoy his weekend. The headmistress provided a house elf to take the presents down to the dungeons for Al, for which the boy was very grateful. He had things to discuss with Circe.

It was more than three hours later that Al returned to Slytherin. He had confronted Circe about telling Rose what they did and Circe had apologized extensively. The boy was still a bit out of breath.

"I see you are not mad at Circe?" smirked Scorpius when Al sat beside him with his Arithmancy book. Professor Matrix had outdone herself with the problem she had set them for homework. Al and Scorpius were both excellent at Arithmancy, but not even they were sure how to solve it.

"Not at all. You have to explain to me what it is that you do with Rose's earlobes that drives her mad when we're done with Arithmancy." It had turned out that Circe had not been the only one to share information about her boyfriend.

"Want me to show you?" grinned the blond.

"Only if it's here and now," Al grinned back.

"What are you going to do here and now?" Enrico and Vern dropped into the chairs at the other side of the table. They were carrying Arithmancy books as well.

Scorpius blushed and then resorted to a lengthy discussion of the properties of the number 12.


	40. Easter

"Really," snarled Unspeakable Mugtown, "there's no need to come here every week. I promised to notify your father when we found a way to enable the bottle to leave the chamber."

Al stood his ground. "I discovered him and his name is Bertie, not bottle! I have a right to ask how things are going!"

"I beg to differ," growled the unspeakable. "The fact that you stumbled into the entrance to the chamber does not give you any right for special treatment. You can hardly demand credit for having been recuded to a squib."

Members of other houses would have retreated, but Al was a Slytherin. "I'll have you know that I was reduced to a squib because I cast a spell, which you probably cannot cast, twelve times in a row. I think I can take a little credit for that. So, how is Bertie?"

The unspeakable glared at Al angrily, but then sighed. "He still mistrusts us. Unspeakable Avery is the only one he agreed so far to talk to. She spends quite a lot of time in there. We're getting an idea though what he did in order to slow time in the chamber. We're going to bring a St Mungo healer in next week. Mr Slytherin agreed to discuss the techniques he used to recover your magic."

"There are a lot of people at St Mungo's who could profit a lot from this knowledge, aren't there?" Al asked.

The unspeakable nodded and smiled for the first time. "They have several long term patients whom they can't heal. There might be hope for them now."

It was all over the papers when two weeks later Alice Longbottom who had spent nearly 40 years at the closed ward was healed with one simple spell. Al made the connection to Uncle Neville only when the Herbology teacher missed a whole week of lessons. It turned out that the evil spirit who had attacked Lily had tortured Uncle Neville's parents into madness when Dad had vanquished her master the first time. It was ironic, really, that their torturer's attack on another had started the chain of events that had lead to Mrs Longbottom's recovery. Unfortunately her husband, who had taken most of the curses trying to protect his wife, could not even be healed with the new spell, but Al was quite sure that Uncle Neville was happy enough as it was to have his mother back.

Gran Molly owled Al a special edition of Witch Weekly. Mrs Longbottom smiled from the front page and in an interview – several pages long! – she stated that she was forever grateful to Albus Severus Potter who had brought those ancient spells back to the wizarding world.

Three days later, Al was called to the headmistress in the middle of a potions lesson. Al was not too happy about that. The potion they were making was particularly difficult and he, Scorpius and Rose were the only ones who had managed the dove blue colour Professor Slope had asked for in the instructions. If he had to leave now, he'd certainly not only miss important details, but also not be awarded points for his good work!

It couldn't be helped though and Al had to go up to the office he had visited more often this school year than any other student. Again, Dad was waiting for him. Beside him stood a witch in stylish short robes and high-heeled shoes. She held a camera.

"Albus," said Dad, "this is Miranda Morton. She's here to take your photograph for Witch Weekly." He looked quite sour.

"A photograph for Witch Weekly?" Al echoed. Dad could not be serious! The boys would never let him live down the shame if he had his photograph published in Witch Weekly! Only show-offs and housewives were in Witch Weekly! Merlin, Uncle Ron sent Dad Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday issue every year!

"Ah, very nice!" cried the photographer. "What a stately young man! Over here, please. The light will bring out your eyes best over here!"

Al looked at Dad pleadingly, but the older Potter made a serious face, only his eyes giving away his amusement.

"I'm by a head smaller than my year mates," Al informed the witch coldly. "Stately is hardly the right word to describe me."

"True greatness lies within," the witch replied merrily and ushered Al to the spot she wanted him in. "Now, give our readers the most winning smile you have."

Al glared at the camera without moving one muscle. He did not want his photo in Witch Weekly!

"Now Al, don't be difficult, son," Dad teased from the back.

Al narrowed his eyes. "Can't you take my photo with Dad? I'd feel more comfortable with him at my side."

The witch beamed as if Christmas had come early. "Mr Potter!" she swirled around to face Dad. "What a splendid idea! If you don't mind…" She held out her hand to invite Dad into the picture.

"I'd rather not," Dad forced a smile while Al smirked at him from behind Ms Morton's back. "I'm not dressed for a photo."

The witch giggled. "Mr Potter, I'm sure a wizard as powerful as you could solve the problem with a single wave of his wand. Please!" She practically purred at Dad. Al thought she'd not survive that behaviour if Mum was nearby.

"Well, why not," smiled Dad. He waved his wand and his everyday robes changed into something more elegant though not formal. 'Show-off!' Al mouthed behind the witch's back.

Then Dad stepped behind Al and laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. The witch advised them to say 'cheese' (a muggle thing that had become trendy recently in the wizarding world), there was a flash and then she was gone.

"Dad!" complained Al, "I don't want my photo in Witch Weekly! James will tease me!"

"Nonsense! They are going to write an article about those new spells. The public interest after Mrs Longbottom's interview was enorm. If we hadn't agreed to an exclusive report, you'd have reporters following you for weeks. Believe me, Al, it's easier that way."

"I don't like it," growled the boy.

Dad smiled. "You don't have to." After a brief moment of earnest, his grin turned mischievous. "You better be grateful that I didn't allow them an interview!"

"An interview? I'm too young for interviews!" protested Al. Both his namesakes chuckled in their frame. The boy glared at them angrily and then left the office at a run.

"Oh my," he heard the headmistress say before the door snapped closed.

-x-

Al would have liked to hide under a stone the day Witch Weekly published their next issue. Fortunately they at least hadn't made the frontpage. There was still a chance that the picture was overlooked.

But of course it was not.

"Oi, Potter!" cried a Ravenclaw girl (Bonnie?) loud enough for the whole hall to hear, "Nice picture!"

"Which page?" cried a Gryffindor. Was that James? – Yes, he was. "Nice one, little brother!" he cried a moment later.

Mercifully, Ariadne provided her edition so that Al could have a look at the photograph himself. He blushed crimson when he saw it. The picture took up most of the page and Al and Dad were all but wrestling to hide behind one another in it. If it hadn't been so embarrassing, Al would have thought it funny.

"I like the photo," Circe said soothingly when Al left the hall after a long painful breakfast. The fact that she had waited for him was somewhat heart-warming. Al beamed at the girl. "Really?"

"Really. If you come after your father, you will be a very handsome man," Circe leaned closer and pecked Al's cheek.

The boy made a retching noise. "Please tell me that you haven't just told me you find my father hot!"

"But he is!" beamed Circe. "And his younger version is all mine!" She pecked Al's cheek again.

"I'm not a younger version of my Dad!" insisted Al.

Circe stopped on the spot. "Are you jealous?" she said teasingly. "I will have you know that I was your girlfriend long before I saw that picture."

"That you were," Al was soothed. "Can we meet after lessons? I feel I'm going to need a shoulder to lean on." James was approaching. Al sighed.

"You really have a natural talent for the camera," the older Potter brother cried. "I hope it's in the blood and I have it, too!" He grabbed his friend Jerry and hid behind him. Jerry fought him and took the spot behind James. Soon the two boys were doing an imitation of Al and Dad in the picture. Tom watched for a little while and then joined the two. Soon the Gryffindors were rolling on the floor in a mock wrestling contest.

A crowd of students stopped to watch. When the Gryffindors finally broke apart, they got enthusiastic applause from their audience.

"Haha!" spat Al and stomped down to Slytherin.

-x-

The teasing didn't stop for four days, but then Capella Watson from Ravenclaw banished the Hufflepuff beater Ian Dohan's robes in the library after she found out he was cheating on her with a housemate and Al's photo was old news.

Two weeks later, Al was invited to stay when he made his weekly visit to the unspeakable's camp.

"Tusnelda went in yesterday," said Unspeakable Mugtown. It took Al a moment to realise that he was speaking about Unspeakable Avery. "She's casting the spells to get Mr Slytherin out. If things go according to plan, they should emerge any minute now."

Any minute took a good part of two hours, but then the portrait swung back and the witch climbed out of the chamber with the glowing bottle in her left hand.

"Is that you, Al?" cried Bertie.

"Yes! They said you were coming out today. It's nice to see you again."

"It's my pleasure!" The floating lips formed a broad smile. "I'm so excited to be back!"

"And we are excited to have you here, Mr Slytherin," said Unspeakable Mugtown.

"Mr Slytherin, this is my boss, Unspeakable Mugtown," Unspeakable Avery introduced the wizard. "I told you about him."

"I'm eager to learn what became of our school project," smiled Bertie in his bottle. "Can you show me around?"

"Of course," nodded the older unspeakable.

"Sir," Al chimed in shyly, "don't you think that should be the headmistress's privilege?"

The unspeakable did some quick thinking and then nodded. "You are right. Albus, would you mind informing her?"

Al had a feeling that the unspeakable wanted to get rid of him, but he went up to Auntie Minerva's office nevertheless. The witch was scandalized when she heard that the unspeakables had performed time magic within Hogwarts without notifying her in advance. She strode down to the dungeons at surprising speed. When she passed the entrance to Slytherin house, she sent Al inside before she proceeded to Bertie's corridor.

-x-

Al was invited to the headmistress's office for tea the next day after lessons. Scorpius snorted when a house elf delivered a piece of parchment with the message.

"You're spending more time up there than here with your friends, you know?" he complained.

Al secretly agreed. "I can hardly refuse the headmistress, can I?" he sighed.

"What does she want now? Another photo? An interview?"

"I don't know." Al turned the parchment as if he expected the answer to be hidden somewhere on it. "But I'll tell you when I come back."

"You better hurry," advised the blond. "Don't forget you promised to practice transfigurations with me. I'm not happy with my goblet yet." They had learned how to turn animals into goblets recently. The Malfoy heir insisted on making them of glass with delicate ornaments and the stem of his goblet alone required more wand movements than the entire goblets of most of their classmates.

Al rolled his eyes but promised to return soon and then set out for the office with a feeling of dread. What if Scorpius was right and they wanted another photo?

It turned out though that his fear had been entirely unfounded. The invitation to tea was just that, an invitation to tea. True, the guest list was a little unexpected, but other than that it was just a meeting of people chatting over a cuppa.

Apart from the headmistress and Al, there were two people, or rather three. Uncle Neville – Professor Longbottom! – and his mother were sitting on the sofa and on a small footstool rested Bertie's bottle!

"I'm leaving for St Mungo's later today," explained Bertie, "and I asked the headmistress to be allowed to talk to you before I go, Albus. I wanted to thank you! Thanks to you, my loneliness has come to an end and I can partake in conversations! That healer I will work together with is so clever! It's really exciting!" The blue eyes were shining with enthusiasm.

"It is I who has to thank you, Bertie," smiled Al. "You restored my magic and helped me out of the chamber. I'd still be caught there if it weren't for you!"

"Don't mention it," cried the bottle.

"But Al is right, Mr Slytherin," said Uncle Neville. "You did so much for us! You brought my mother back to me!" He reached for the woman's hand and squeezed it. Alice Longbottom returned the gesture fondly and smiled at her son beatifically.

"It was my pleasure, Professor," said the bottle. "I only regret that your father couldn't be healed, too."

A shadow of sadness crossed Mrs Longbottom's face, but it was gone within the moment. "It's not good to dwell on what should have been and forget to be grateful for what was achieved," she said in a very soft voice. Al guessed she was speaking so low because she was not used to using her voice at all. "I can't even start to thank you enough."

They exchanged words of thanks for a little while longer. Then Bertie told about what he and the healers of St Mungo's had planned. The mediwizards were excited about having access to ancient and long forgotten spells and Bertie was glad to reintroduce those spells to the wizarding community. "I will of course return to Hogwarts when we're done," he ended his report. "This castle is my home."

The headmistress reassured the bottled wizard that he'd always have a place at the school. All in all the evening went well. Al had even time to practice spells with Scorpius.

-x-

Never had Al been so glad to go home for the Easter holidays. He had felt uncomfortable around his family when he had feared during the summer that he was going to end up a squib and he had missed the Christmas holidays. This was going to be the first time in a long time he could really enjoy staying with the family.

The journey back to London was relaxed. Al and Circe hid away under a notice-me-not charm (Al had known that Circe was good at charms, but that she had mastered that one came as a pleasant surprise) for the better part of an hour in a quiet corner. Later, the boys played several rounds of Exploding Snap and there was a lot of giggling when Vern caught Rose hexing the cards in Scorpius's favour.

Greeting Mr Malfoy, who was in conversation with Dad, respectfully was hard. All Al wanted to do was hug and squeeze his parents, who had both come to pick up the children. The blond wizard seemed to understand how Al felt for he winked at Dad and then disapparated with Scorpius right from the platform. With a squeal of delight Al threw himself on Dad. Laughing happily, Dad wrapped his arms around his younger son and squeezed him tightly.

In the car, Al couldn't stop talking. There was so much he wanted to tell his parents. He had learned new magic again! His siblings seemed to understand how important it was for Al to rebond with his parents, because for once neither James nor Lily interrupted or teased him.

The younger Potter brother was so caught up in his tale about his latest transfiguration homework (turn a caterpillar into a vase) that he first didn't see the crowd of red-haired people gathered in the Potter driveway. Only when Lily rushed out of the car with a squealed "Gran!" did he spot the assembled Weasleys.

There was a banner spelling "Welcome home, Al!" draped over the entrance and everybody was laughing and smiling. Al was hugged and kissed and he didn't mind at all. He hugged and kissed back happily and allowed himself to be swept around the house to the garden by the happy crowd, where a long table was laid for the whole family. Kreacher, Winky and Reggy were hurrying to and fro. Patty, Reggy's wife, was working at the barbecue. A tiny elf was sleeping in a basket on a chair beside her.

With a smile Al got up from the seat of honour he had just taken and walked over to the barbecue. "Patty, I see your baby was already born! May I see it?"

The elf bowed and pulled the blanket covering the baby elf back just far enough for Al to see the little one. The baby's skin was rosy and a tuft of nearly white hair covered the head.

"It's a beautiful baby, Patty," said Al. "You must be very proud. What name did you choose?"

"Reggy calls baby Dobby," beamed Patty. "It's a good name, a hero's name."

Al smiled. "That it is." He had known Dobby's grave in Uncle Bill's garden from a young age, but only after he had learned about Dad's fight against the Dark Wizard had he asked about Dobby. Dad sounded sad when he talked about the brave elf even after all those years.

The welcome home party was wonderful. The food was great and everybody was very happy. There was a small commotion when Uncle George asked Al to show his magic and every present male seconded him. Mum pointed her finger at her younger son when he drew his wand. "Don't you dare, Albus Severus Potter! You know the law!"

"Spoil-sport!" cried Uncle Percy of all people.

"Percival Weasley!" Gran Molly cried threateningly.

Dad stopped the row before it could escalate. "As Head of the Auror Division I request you prove that your wand functions properly and poses no danger to the people and creatures gathered in this garden." Auntie Mione closed her mouth when Dad included creatures in his request. She had taken baby Dobby when he woke and was rocking the baby elf gently.

Al pointed his wand at the chicken bone on Uncle George's plate and cried his spell. The bone turned into a rubber chicken. Uncle George seized it at the neck and lifted it. The rubber chicken cackled miserable and flounced.

"This is my nephew!" cried Uncle George. "Here, Perce!" He threw the chicken at Uncle Percy who passed it on to Uncle Charlie using his dessert plate as a bat. Spare whipped cream splattered on the table. Two minutes later, the Weasley clan was engaged in a merry food fight.

Auntie Mione ran for shelter with Dobby pressed to her chest. She gave the baby to Patty before she joined the battle with some well placed spells. It was a sign just how happy everybody was that none of the Weasley women tried to stop the exuberance, but all joined in. Mum even conjured some cakes as ammunition.

After the battle, Dad and Uncle Ron spelled the garden clean – Kreacher was beside himself because he thought cleaning up after the fight was his duty – and everybody but Uncle Ron and his family returned home.

The Potters and their guests went to the living room where Kreacher served coffee for the adults and cocoa for the children. When everybody had their cup, the house elves joined the humans and everybody oohed and aahed over little Dobby. The baby elf was awake again after having fallen asleep during the food battle. His eyes were huge for the little face and green. His mother gave him a small cloth and the baby elf started to clean the rim of his basket.

Al looked at Auntie Mione anxiously, but she only smiled sadly. "I never believed it," she sighed in Dad's direction, "but it's really in their blood."

Dad chuckled. "I was afraid to invite you when Kreacher and Winky had Reggy. I thought you were going to kill me if you saw a baby iron his blanket. – No, no, it was only a toy iron. It was not hot!"

Auntie Mione calmed down quite quickly. "How long until he's grown and will want his own master?"

"Reggy was 12 when he went to your household. Elves grow quicker than our kids," Dad smiled at the former Potter elf who was kneeling beside the basket, babbling nonsense endearments at his first son.

-x-

The excitement Al had felt upon returning home didn't deminish one bit over the next few days. Mum and Dad were so happy that their younger son had his magic back that they were more willing than usual to spoil him and his siblings. They took the children shopping to Diagon Alley. Al and James needed new robes because both had grown quite a bit since last summer (Al was still the smallest in his year and if you had asked him you would have heard that he was by no means growing fast enough). Actually Al could have worn James's old robes, but Dad never let him wear any hand-me-downs.

Madam Malkins bustled about the shop and soon the Potter boys had a good dozen of robes to choose from although the colour and overall design were dictated by the school rules. They both went for a soft fabric made of cotton and the hair of magical Andalusian rabbits. Mum helped Lily choose a light summer dress for Gran Molly's Easter party.

After the clothes shopping, the Potters went for ice cream before Mum took James and Lily to the apothecary – Al's set was still well stocked since he had not actually brewed for four months – and Dad went to Ollivander's with Al.

"Ah, Mr Potter! So soon again?" asked the old wizard. He was balancing on top of a ladder and sorting boxes on a high shelf.

"I'm not sure you heard, my son Albus had some troubles with his magic recently." Dad smiled at the wand maker.

Mr Ollivander listened intently as Dad gave him a short version of how Al lost and regained his magic. "I guess you are having some troubles with your wand, young man?" the wizard asked when Dad had finished his report.

Al nodded. "It's no big thing, really. It's just… somehow my wand feels different than it did."

Mr Ollivander nodded. "Yes, that's not unheard of. Wizards whose magic changed due to magical maladies for example often experience the same. There have even been cases where the old wand didn't work at all for a wizard. Let's see."

He cast several spells on Al and his wand. Some of them tickled and Al laughed. At last the wand maker nodded. "Only a small change in your magic," he finally stated, "nothing to be worried about. A quarter inch more should do the trick." He climbed his ladder and brought down a new wand.

Al tried it and really, this wand felt just like it should. "Strange," he said. "This looks exactly like Bertie's wand but for the colour." The wand was made of ebony, just like Al's old one, while Bertie's was made from light wood. Al wasn't sure which one since the wand was so old and the surface had suffered a bit over the centuries.

Mr Ollivander looked up from the box he had been handling. "You have Mr Slytherin's wand?"

"The Ministry has it," Al shook his head. "Bertie said he wants me to have it, but they insisted on examining it first."

"A reasonable measure," Dad pointed out. "That wand is thousand years old. We don't know whether a wand is still safe after that much time."

"Oh," laughed Mr Ollivander. "We do know. My family has wands that are much older and they all still work well. As far as I can tell, wands are the most durable magical objects. I'd be very interested in Mr Slytherin's wand if you ever wanted to sell it, young man."

"Bertie wouldn't like that," Al pointed out.

"True," nodded the wand maker. "But remember my offer stands."

Al and Dad met Mum, James and Lily at the owl emporium. Each of the Potter children owned an owl, Al's was a barn owl called Mercury. James barn owl was called Godric and Lily owned a snowy owl called Barbara. Mum bought them a box of owl treats each and a new cage for Lily.

The last stop at the wizarding shopping street was Quidditch Supplies. James needed some new twigs for his broomstick and Al wanted a new tin of handle polish. Dad got himself a new pair of sports glasses. Mum laughed, but Dad huffed that he was "going to wipe the ground with Malfoy next time". Mum was still laughing when the family returned home.

-x-

One day, Gran and Granpa came visiting. Al had to retell the story of Bertie's chamber and they both asked many questions. Granpa sounded a bit worried. "Never trust an intelligent item when you can't tell where it keeps its brain!" he repeated the rule that was repeated to all Weasley children from a young age.

"I won't," Al promised. "But Bertie is very nice."

Granpa nodded. "He may be," he conceded, "but don't let your guard down, grandson."

All three Potter children nodded in agreement.

-x-

The most important event during the Easter holidays was, of course, the Weasley Easter party. Gran Molly and Granpa Arthur played hosts for the whole family. The Weasley women prepared a feast while the Weasley men all but Granpa hid Easter eggs in the garden and the nearby forest. Granpa meanwhile entertained the crowd of children with stories about Uncle Fred.

Uncle Fred had been Uncle George's twin, who died young. Al had only some years ago learned that he had been killed in a battle against the Evil Wizard whom Dad had killed in the end, too late for Uncle Fred.

The children laughed when Granpa told how Uncle Fred had upset Gran Molly threatening to send Mum a Hogwarts toilet seat. It sounded like something Uncle George would have done and Uncle George never left any doubt that Uncle Fred had been the funnier twin.

The meal was delicious, but a quick one since the children were impatient to go looking for their Easter eggs. The adults indulged them. Uncle Ron even suggested to go looking for the eggs between the main course and dessert and most of the men agreed.

Al and James left the garden to the smaller kids and set out to the forest immediately, closely followed by some of the nearly grown up Weasley youngsters. The Potter brothers had very different techniques of looking. James hurried to and fro and climbed over trunks and rocks. Al, on the other hand, first thought about where he would hide any eggs. Was the hiding place safe? Certainly no egg would be hidden in a place where a smaller child could get hurt when trying to get it. Al stayed close to the ground and soon had more eggs than he could carry. He took off his shirt and made a small bag of it.

"Trying to show off?" James teased when he spotted Al on a clearing. "May I remind you that all the girls here are blood relatives?"

"Maybe he wants to practice?" suggested Rose. "Let me see. Hm, not bad, but Scorpius looks better, of course."

"He does not!" huffed Al.

"He does!" insisted the girl. She was carrying a small basket full of Easter eggs.

Al smirked. "You are talking to the guy who showers with Scorpius. Don't tell stories."

James made a face. "I really didn't need that picture in my head, little brother. No details, please!" He laughed.

Al glared at his older brother. "Scorpius had to handle the shower taps for me for four months. Yes, you are the first one to come up with that joke."

James proved immediately that he was a true Gryffindor. "Did they give you a hard time? Who was it? I'll make them pay." – "Count me in!" cried Rose. "You are our Al, nobody teases you but us!"

"Who is teasing Al?" asked Lily from behind and Hugo also chimed in. "Are we teasing Al? Why did you start without me?"

The siblings and cousins all laughed and then set out for the Burrow to get their dessert. Gran Molly had made several different kinds of tarts. Al had a slice of treacle and one of apple tart.


	41. Wizard in a bottle

The journey back to Hogwarts was very pleasant. The Slytherin boys shared their compartment with Rose and Circe as it had become tradition over the past few years. Everybody but Vern had brought chocolates they had left from Easter. Since everybody knew that Vern's family was not rich, the others shared their sweets gladly with him. Scorpius had a big box of finest French and Belgian chocolates and he urged Vern to take everything he liked once Rose had had her choice.

The blond entertained the whole group with tales of his trip to the continent with his family. Rose had been the only one who knew about it; she had got a beautiful owl from Sweden and she had been allowed to keep the bird!

About an hour before the train reached Hogsmeade, Vern and Enrico went to find their girlfriends. Circe rummaged in her bag and produced her potions book. "I have to use the chance to ask the best potions students in the year," she smiled.

"You are very good yourself," Al smiled back.

Circe pecked his lips. "You are sweet, but I'm not as good as you are. Or Scorpius and Rose. I have a problem with this recipe." She pointed at the page. "I just don't understand why the ivy leaves are added together with the ground moonstone."

"That's easy," Scorpius grinned with an air of generosity. "Look…"

Al was glad that the blond explained about the moonstone. That way he had more time to admire Circe.

-x-

Just like after every break, there was a small feast to welcome the students back to Hogwarts. It was delicious, like always, but Al didn't pay much attention to the food. At the far end of the table, Arethusa Patterson and Nero Burns, two seventh years who had been a couple ever since Al had known them, were fighting.

Nobody could really tell how the fight had started, but as far as Al could tell from what they were hissing, growling and barking at each other, Arethusa was accusing Nero of having cheated on her with a muggle. By the time dessert was served, the first curses were flying. When a girl at the Ravenclaw table was hit by a stray hex and grew donkey ears, Professor Slope came down from the head table at a run and confiscated their wands.

"Really," drawled Scorpius between two spoonfuls of chocolate ice-cream, "one would think they are both muggleborn. No decorum at all."

"Muggleborns know how to behave just as well as purebloods!" protested Vern. Al agreed, not only out of blood-loyalty, but because he knew several muggleborns none of whom had ever misbehaved as far as he could tell.

"I didn't say being muggleborn was a bad thing. I just meant that they don't know when it's appropriate to forego using magic."

"Nonsense!" Vern glared at the small blond angrily. "When have you known me to use magic when I shouldn't have?"

Enrico slapped his shoulder, laughing good-naturedly. "That's because you're crap at spell-casting."

"I'm not!" Vern pouted.

Al nodded. "He's not," he informed his friends. "Vern is a more than decent spell-caster."

The friendly bickering was interrupted by the headmistress who was calling for the students' attention.

"I'm proud to inform you," she said after the usual notes, "that we have a new member of staff. Professor Salbert Slytherin agreed to stay at Hogwarts as a tutor after he has finished his work with the healers of St Mungo's. He will reside in the classroom next to the portrait of Gloria the Good on the first floor. Whoever needs help with his or her studies is invited to come and ask the Professor."

She pointed at the table in front of her and Al had to crane his neck to see what she was pointing at. It was Bertie's bottle, which was standing between jugs of pumpkin juice and caraffes of wine.

"Please don't let my unusual appearance stop you from asking me for help," said what Al recognized was Bertie's voice. "My area of expertise are potions and healing spells, but I'm sure I can be of assistance in other fields, too."

"Is that a bottle speaking?" asked a second year girl a little down the table. She was scolded by her housemates for not reading the newspaper. Bertie had been the topic of several articles in various papers ever since the unspeakables had managed to take him from the chamber.

"It's exciting that we can take remedial potions with our founder's brother!" said Enrico.

Scorpius and Al snorted in unison. "Why would we take remedial potions?"

-x-

For about a week, Bertie's new classroom was crowded but then the students realised that the bottled wizard's knowledge was about a millenium behind what they needed and only few came to discuss potions with the bottled wizard.

Al convinced Scorpius to go and do their homework at Bertie's classroom from time to time. The founder's brother could not move after all and if nobody came to see him, Al thought, life must be pretty lonely for him.

Bertie's bottle stood on the desk, on a flat velvet cushion and the wizard sounded rather depressed when the Slytherins turned up to keep him company for a while.

"Algie Sanguin tried to take me down to the lake, the dear boy," Bertie explained when Al asked. "It turned out the headmistress has put a spell on my bottle. I can't leave this room. I'm a prisoner again."

"I'm sure she intended to protect you," Al pointed out. "You can't defend yourself if anybody decided they want to assault you."

"I don't doubt her good intentions," sighed Bertie, "but it's depressing that I can't even take a walk on the rare occasions I find somebody willing to take me. I helped build this castle and now I cannot even look at it at leasure." He sighed again.

"We could ask the headmistress," suggested Scorpius. "Maybe she'd be willing to lift the spell for the duration of your walk."

The blue eyes in the bottle shone with excitement. "Would you do that for me? Ask her and then take me on a walk?"

"Why not," shrugged Al. It would be cool to be seen with Bertie. Circe would be impressed.

The headmistress heard Al out when he explained what they wanted to do a little later. "I can't spend my time removing and recasting that spell all the time, Albus," she said when Al had finished his plea for Bertie. "I have a lot of other things to do." That she considered those things more important remained unsaid, but Al could all but hear it.

"I'm not asking you to do it every day. Can't you just allow him an outing this weekend? It'd mean so much to him!"

The old witch sighed. "On Saturday, but this will remain an exception! You may come to his classroom after breakfast to pick him up. And you are responsible for Mr Slytherin as long as he's outside the classroom!"

-x-

Although Bertie had no real facial expressions, it was obvious how happy he was when Al carried him with him all Saturday. While Al played soccer with his friends, Circe held the bottle and Bertie cheered Al and Scorpius on with the girls.

"This is an exciting game!" Bertie cried when Al sat on the grass beside Circe after the game. "When did they invent it? I've never seen anything like that before!"

Vern spent the next half hour explaining about soccer and the muggle soccer leagues.

"It's a muggle game?" Bertie asked, sounding amazed. "It would be the first time that I hear of muggles inventing something that wizards adopted!"

Scorpius shook his head. "We play soccer because it was something we could do when we were still firstyears, not because wizards are huge soccer fans. Wizards play a different game. Quidditch."

"Do you know it?" Al added hastily.

The blue eyes in the bottle blinked. "I never heard of anything called quidditch!"

Since it was already quite late, the boys decided that school brooms would do for a short demonstration. The group went down to the quidditch pitch. James and Al fetched broomsticks for them all and Vern went with Bertie up to the stands. Since he didn't like flying too much, Vern had volunteered to stay with the bottled wizard.

They had not enough players for a real match, but played four on four. Scorpius, James, Tom and Circe played against Al, Jerry, Enrico and Rose. Al and Scorpius played Seekers, Tom and Jerry were the Keepers. The others played Chasers. Vern explained about Beaters while the players zoomed around the pitch to warm up.

The match was fast and exciting. Although there were no beaters, the teams fought viciously. The chasers tried to push each other off their broomsticks and more than once the quaffle was aimed at a seeker.

The two teams were equally matched, therefore the lead changed to and from. Vern and Bertie cheered from the stands for both teams. The bottled wizard was beside himself.

Then Al spotted the snitch and went for it. Scorpius saw it a moment after the green-eyed boy and followed a moment later. Soon the friends flew shoulder to shoulder, trying to push each other off the broom at full speed. Al laughed happily and Scorpius cheered while he knocked into his friend. The boys' hair fluttered in the wind wildly. Oh how Al had missed this when he had barely any magic! There was nothing that had ever given him a greater feeling of freedom than chasing a snitch.

The small golden ball zoomed up in the air and the seekers pulled their brooms into a steep rise without stopping their pushing. The ball changed its mind and performed a dive. The boys followed and pulled only out of their fall when they were close enough to the ground to touch the grass. Al, who had played Quidditch with Gryffindors all his life, pulled out of the dive inches later, and that made all the difference. His fingers wrapped around the fluttering snitch and his team cheered.

Tom and Jerry took the brooms back to the shed while the rest of the group answered Bertie's questions. The wizard was enthusiastic about the game. He wanted to know everything. When had the game been invented? Since when was it played professionally? What did the Beaters do? (He had not seen any in action, so he was particularly interested in what he had missed.) What did the rules say about the use of magic?

At last Al suggested to show Bertie "Quidditch through the Ages". Scorpius fetched his copy and the afternoon was spent in Bertie's classroom showing the bottled wizard pictures of famous manoevres.

"I wish I could look at this book all day!" cried Bertie when the boys prepared to take their leave. "But of course I understand you can't stay all day. You have homework to do."

Al nodded. "I'll try to find a way to let you look at the book without us." There must be a way to enable a person who could not use their hands to read! Before Al sat down to write his potions essay, he wrote a letter to Dad, explaining the problem and asking for advice.

-x-

When the boys went to visit Bertie again a week later, they found the wizard reading a book. It was propped against a stack of other books and when they entered, Bertie was just ordering the page to turn and it did.

"Ah, Albus!" cried the wizard when the boy cleared his throat. The eyes floated to the back of the bottle. "Look what the headmistress did for me!" The eyes swam back to the side facing the book. "Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn back!" The pages followed Bertie's orders without hesitation.

The bottled wizard smiled smugly. "It's a simple little spell actually," he explained. "It is triggered by my voice. I don't do the magic, I only use it. Great, isn't it? A house elf comes to see if I need a new book once in a while. I've read two books on Quidditch already and now I'm in the fourteenth century in 'Hogwarts, A History'. I really have to thank you, boys."

Al was glad that Bertie was able to read now. It must be boring and depressing to be limited to a bottle and wait for somebody to come and talk to you. At least the wizard had a way to entertain himself now, even if he still depended on a house elf and the headmistress.

"Now," beamed Bertie, "am I going to see a soccer match again, today?"

"No," Al had to say. "I wanted to ask the headmistress to allow me take you outside again, but she had to leave for London in the morning and she's the only one who can lift the ward on your room."

The boys stayed for about an hour before they went to find the Gryffindors.

-x-

Two weeks later, Al was surprised to see Bertie on the Gryffindor table at lunchtime. He went over to say hello and find out who had gotten permission to take the bottle with them.

Bertie was with James and his friends.

"Look!" he cried merrily when Al approached. "Isn't this great? I'm at the Great Hall for lunch!"

Al forewent pointing out that Bertie wasn't able to have lunch.

"The headmistress combined the wards with that little page turning spell for me!" Bertie informed the young Slytherin. "I can leave when I want. I have to decide whether I trust a person to take me outside and bring me back safely. Since yesterday, I can lower and rise the wards with my voice! Wonderful, isn't it?"

Personally, Al thought that was a bit risky, but then Bertie was a grown wizard – which was easy to forget since he was in that bottle – and able to decide which risks he was willing to take. "Wonderful," he agreed.

Bertie's new freedom granted Al a new level of independence. The boy had always felt responsible for the younger Slytherin brother since it had been him who had discovered the chamber and its inhabitant. Therefore he had always felt he had to spend at least a bit of his free time with the bottled wizard. Now Bertie was able to leave his classroom and befriend other students; and since he could be taken around, more students were willing to do so.

Especially the Slytherins used Bertie's new freedom frequently. How could you not want to spend a little time with a co-founder of your house? But the Slytherins were not the only ones who wanted to chat with Bertie. More often than not, Salbert Slytherin was to be found outside nowadays.

Al didn't mind. He and Circe had recently discovered the joys of kissing each other's throats and there was not enough time for the boy to spend with his girlfriend. Part of him wanted to ask Scorpius whether he and Rose had tried nibbling on each other's throats, but then he thought after he had complained about Circe telling Rose about what they did together he should not tell Scorpius. The blond had always seemed more inventive than Al anyway, so he probably knew what a little lick right under one's ear could do.

It was about a month after Bertie had got permission to leave his classroom that James came running to Al, who was trying to solve another riddiculously difficult Arithmancy problem with Scorpius. The librarian glared at the older Potter brother as he barged into the sacred halls of her realm shouting his brother's name.

"Al!" panted James. He had run so fast he was barely able to stop himself from crashing into the table Al and Scorpius were working at. "Haven't you heard?"

"Haven't I heard what?" Al asked irritatedly.

"Bertie is gone!"


	42. Effects of old age

The Slytherins were on their feet instantly.

"What do you mean Bertie is gone?" asked Scorpius.

James rolled his eyes dramatically. "You Slytherins have to suspect hidden meanings in the simplest statements," he sighed. "I mean 'Bertie is gone.' They can't find him. Dad is here."

The Potters and Scorpius hurried up to the headmistress's office and to Al's surprise they were admitted in immediately.

"Al," Dad gave his younger son a short hug before he was all business. "You and your friends are closest to Mr Slytherin. Do you know anything about his whereabouts?"

Al shook his head. "When we asked him on Wednesday whether he wanted us to fetch him for our soccer game today, he declined. We assumed he had another appointment, but he didn't tell us with whom."

The headmistress, who looked very worried, sighed. "It would have been too simple."

Dad nodded. "We had to try," he stated. "Al, Scorpius, I need you to give me all the names of students you know to have befriended Mr Slytherin."

Al understood. Bertie had to raise the protective spells himself if he was to be taken out of his classroom. Or not? "Are you sure he was taken from his classroom? He could have been out with a student. Something could have happened while they were out on the grounds."

"Good thinking," grinned Dad. Thank Merlin he didn't ruffle up Al's hair in public. "But no student is missing. The protective magic of the school would have informed the headmistress of mind magic being performed, so we can assume that the student who took Mr Slytherin out of the classroom is responsible for his absence."

Al nodded. He, James and Scorpius spent the next half hour making a list of people they knew had taken Bertie outside at least once. Most of Slytherin house, at least the upper years, was on the list since Dad insisted they name every single member of groups if Bertie had gone with a group of students. All the Gryffindor fifth and fourth years were on the list, as well as some older students from that house as was every single Ravenclaw from third year up. The ravens had taken Bertie to their house at least once to learn everything about the founders. Bertie had been flattered to be asked for a lecture. The house with the fewest people on the list was Hufflepuff. Onle a half dozen of Hufflepuffs had befriended the bottled wizard.

Dad seemed glad about that. He'd have to interrogate half of the student body as it was. Determined, Dad took a small brown paper bag from his pocket and unfolded it. "Sloe," he barked into the bag. "We need a good dozen aurors here for interrogation. Why don't you bring those academy foals over? We could give them a bit of field experience."

"On our way, boss," answered a voice out of the bag.

Dad folded the bag and put it back in his pocket. "Our new means of communications," he told the headmistress. "Auror Nightmair went to Austria last summer and they have that expression 'talk it into a bag'; that gave him the idea. It's a quite simple spell."

"Ingenious," nodded the headmistress. "Easier than a patronus."

"A lot," Dad agreed. "Everybody can use it, even a kid, and with a distance like from here to London it's faster, too."

"Not to mention the fact that muggles can't see it." The headmistress poured tea for Dad and the three boys while they waited. Al was just reaching for his second chocolate chip cookie when the fire in the hearth turned green and a group of about 20 young people in auror trainee robes (burgundy with yellow hems) stepped out of the fireplace. They were followed by Dad's second in command, Mercury Sloe.

Dad briefed the group on the situation. The headmistress led the group downstairs to a corridor which was barely used anymore. Most students referred to it as the voodoo corridor; they were sure that this corridor had once been dedicated to a form of magic that was no longer taught at Hogwarts, but nobody knew which. The headmistress performed some spells and each classroom was parted into several interrogation chambers.

"Come boys, you first," grinned Dad. He ushered his sons and Scorpius to a chamber each.

"I will not be interrogated by aurors without my father present," stated the blond. He stood in front of the door he had been pointed at.

"Anything to hide, boy?" asked a stout blonde witch. She glared down at Scorpius. Al thought he'd have been scared, but the Malfoy heir stood his ground. "I'm under age. You will not interrogate me without my parents' consent."

"This will be a long investigation if we have to contact all the parents," said Auror Sloe. He looked at Dad for orders.

"We will try to contact the parents. If they can't be reached, and only then, I will declare this an emergency." Al knew that the Aurors had the power to interview minors immediately in case of an emergency. It was rarely done though, because parents usually didn't react too well when they learned about the emergency interviews.

Luckily Mr Malfoy was only a firecall away and gave permission for the interrogation once Dad had explained the situation and that Scorpius was by no means a suspect, but a witness. Although the interview was harmless enough, Mr Malfoy insisted on coming to Hogwarts.

Al was interviewed by two female trainees. One had bushy brown hair like Auntie Mione and the other was the tallest woman Al had ever seen.

"I'm Melinda Bower," said the bushy-haired, "and this is Muse Anderson."

"Albus Potter." Al felt uncomfortable although he hadn't done anything wrong.

"So, Mr Potter," the trainee said. "What do you know about Mr Slytherin's whereabouts?"

Al repeated what he had told Dad and the headmistress earlier. Ms Anderson took notes while Ms Bower asked for more details here and there. All in all the interview was not very long. After what could hardly have been a half hour, Al was ushered out of the room.

Scorpius was already finished, too. He was talking to his father in front of the classroom. Somebody had put up chairs in the corridor and a good dozen of students were already waiting for their interviews.

By dinner time Hogwarts was buzzing with activity. Dozens of worried parents had hurried to Hogwarts and Dad had brought in more aurors. The headmistress had added a table in the Great Hall for the guests.

Al was halfway through his main course – shepherd's pie – when a dishevelled witch stormed into the Hall.

"Aurors!" cried the woman. "I need aurors! Help me! Won't anybody help?"

Dad was up in an instant. "Inform Sloe," he barked at the girl sitting beside him. "Madame, I'm Auror Potter. What can I do for you?"

"It's my son! Please, come quickly!"

Al hurried to the doors as fast as he could. He had no doubt that the headmistress was going to order the students to stay put any moment. If he wanted to know what had happened, he had to be quick.

The woman hurried back out of the hall as soon as she could be sure that she had an auror's attention. The sight that met the eye in the entrance hall was horrible. "An auror is coming Alfred!" the witch cried.

Alfred, a balding wizard with a gray goatie was wrestling with a boy of maybe fifteen.

"Leave me alone!" cried the boy. He struggled against the wizard. "Leave me alone!"

"Calm down, Eric!" cried the wizard. "We will help you! Calm down!"

"I don't need help, you idiot!" screeched the boy. "Leave me alone!"

There was a gasp beside Al. The boy had not realised that another student had tiptoed out of the hall. Beside him, Alice Dearborn was pale as a piece of chalk. "Eric!" she whispered.

"Is this your brother?" asked Al.

For a moment Alice seemed surprised that Al knew about her twin, but then she nodded and turned back to the fight going on in the middle of the hall. The witch, Mrs Dearborn, had joined her husband in his fight with the young boy.

"Eric," she pleaded. "Stop struggling."

"Let go, you witch!" screamed the boy. He doubled his efforts to break free of his parents. "Leave me alone!"

And then Al was in for a surprise. Suddenly magic crackled around the boy! Auntie Minerva had told him that Alice's brother was a squib! Al gasped, as did Alice beside him. He was startled by a stronger jolt of magic.

Dad had stunned the struggling boy. "Explain!" he demanded.

-x-

It was a strange group around the hospital bed while Madame Slope took care of the still unconscious squib. The Dearborns, the headmistress, Dad, Auror Sloe and Al, whom Dad had taken with him "in order to avoid gossip about the situation". As if Al had walked around spreading rumours! He'd not have told anybody but perhaps Scorpius; certainly Scorpius and perhaps Vern. And maybe Enrico. Maybe Dad had been right about taking Al with him.

"What happened?" Dad asked sternly.

"We don't know!" cried Mr Dearborn, who worked as an accountant at Gringott's. "Eric has been a normal boy so far. Today he suddenly displayed signs of magic! First we were thrilled, but then his magic became more and more erratic. He killed our cat by accident!"

"Please, you have to help him! I don't want him locked away because he can't control his magic!" cried Mrs Dearborn. "It can't be normal that a child doesn't display any magic for so long that he's taken for a squib and then all of a sudden has more magic than he can control! It must be an illness!" The witch looked at Madame Slope pleadingly.

The matron didn't notice. She was getting more and more frantic while she worked on the boy. She cast spell after spell in quick succession, then sent off a patronus, which had her husband hurry in some minutes later.

The Dearborns, all three of them, looked scared and worried. The aurors looked earnest as if they knew already something dangerous, illegal was going on. The headmistress's expression changed from worried to stern and back to worried every few seconds.

"Jeremia, I need you to brew Exorshnaps again! This boy is possessed!"

"How long do I have?" asked the potions master.

"You better take young Mr Potter with you. The faster you brew the better. This spirit is not as malevolent as the one we had last year, but better be safe than sorry. Hurry as much as you can."

"Possessed?" cried Mrs Dearborn. "How can he be possessed?"

"I have an idea how he can," said Dad. "Alice, is there anything you wish to tell us?"

Alice was sobbing by now. "I didn't mean to hurt him! Mr Slytherin said he could help Eric become a real wizard!"

"What did you do?" Mr Dearborn asked sternly. "Did you perform any dangerous magic on your brother? And who is Mr Slytherin?"

"The bottled wizard who was on the papers. He said if Eric drank him, he'd become a real wizard! I just wanted Eric to be able to come to Hogwarts!"

"I guess you sent Mr Slytherin home via owl post?" asked Dad.

Alice nodded, howling with misery.

Al could no longer watch the scene. Professor Slope touched his shoulder gently and nudged him to follow him to the dungeons. On the way down, Al called his namesake, Severus Snape. By the time they had prepared the lab for their brewing, Dad and Mr Malfoy had arrived to assist with the cutting and slicing again.

They hurried, like they had a year earlier, but this time Al was much calmer and things went more smoothly. He had done this before and it was not his own sibling whose soul was at stake. That made a lot of difference.

Al didn't dare think of how Alice must be feeling. At least it had not been his fault that Lily was possessed.

It was a pleasure to be part of the brewing team. Professor Slope and Severus Snape worked together smoothly. Although this was only their second cooperation with a year in between, they seemed to guess what the other was thinking. The portrait, since it could not do anything but order Al what to do, was giving instructions in a calm voice all through the process. His tone changed only when he sent Al to the room where Dad and Mr Malfoy were working. At those two, the portrait barked orders as if they were recalcitrant students.

When the Exorshnaps was ready, Professor Slope took it upstairs to the hospital wing. Mr Malfoy and Dad followed him. Al didn't wait to be invited and just followed, too.

"Al," said Dad when they had reached the infirmary, "I think it'd be better if you stayed behind. You know what happened to you last time you witnessed the application of Exorshnaps."

Al shuddered, but stood his ground. "I have to bring Severus. You know that he won't agree that I hand the locket over to anybody else." Dad allowed him inside, but he didn't look too thrilled.

"Very Slytherin," whispered Severus. "Ten points to Slytherin."

"You can't give points to Slytherin," Al whispered back.

Severus snorted. "Of course I can. I'm a headmaster. I can give and take as many points as I want. Ten points from Gryffindor. See. It works."

Al made a face. "How am I supposed to see that it works?"

"You may take my cheery tone as an indicator." Had Severus Snape just giggled?

Although Al had been permitted inside, Dad was clearly not going to take any risk with him this time. He positioned himself between his son and the bed on which Eric Dearborn was lying, still unconscious. Madame Slope gave them all a warning before she ennervated the boy.

The adults had all their wands out; Al and Alice were both forced behind the group of grown witches and wizards.

"What have you done to me?"

Al shuddered when he heard Eric. The voice was foreign, but the tone was familiar. This was clearly Bertie speaking!

"Mr Slytherin," said Dad. "You are possessing this boy. If you know of a way to release the child from your influence, you have one minute to use it before we apply a potion to remove your spirit from the boy's body."

"But that would kill me!" protested Bertie.

"I just pointed out that we were willing to save you, but your possession of this body is not acceptable. You will leave it, one way or the other."

"Why would you want that?" growled the spirit. "This boy is worthless to the wizarding population, a waste! Thanks to me he has magic! With a little time I will learn to control it! The family should be grateful!"

"As you said," growled Dad, "YOU will learn how to control it, not Eric! You are trying to take his life away. We won't allow that. Do you wish to leave this body voluntarily?" There was a short pause. "Gentlemen, ladies, wands at the ready! Madame Slope, apply the potion now!"

Al and Alice couldn't see much. They were both smaller than the wall of adult bodies in front of them. Madame Slope must have applied the potion for there was a howling noise as if from a wounded animal and a scream. The howling, Al was sure, was Bertie. The scream must be Eric. One glance at Alice told the boy that he was right in that assumption. The girl looked horrified.

"Eric!" Al saw Mrs Dearborn move. The woman must have thrown herself on her son.

"Take her away! I have no clear shot!" Dad ordered. Al had never known Dad could sound so firm. This was not the voice of the loving father he knew, but the voice of a leader in battle, used to having his every word obeyed as if it was the law.

Professor Slope and Mr Malfoy rushed to obey, but too late. The spirit of Bertie had zoomed out of Eric's body and dodged Dad and the other adults. Unlike Bellatrix Lestrange, Bertie's spirit was not human-shaped. Al had heard Professor Slope and Severus Snape discuss that. There had been no way to get hands on a hair of Bertie or a close enough relative. As a result the spirit was fuzzy and more difficult to ban. They had agreed that it should not be a problem with a powerful wizard like Dad present.

But Dad could not use his power with Mrs Dearborn sprawled over Eric and Mr Malfoy and Professor Slope trying to get the woman away. There were only a few moments in which Dad could have banished the spirit, but those moments went unused. Bertie, the cloud, moved around the armed adults and towards the wandless children.

Alice screamed when the spirit entered her body through eyes, nose and ears and she didn't stop screaming when the spirit was inside her.

"Do something!" sobbed Mrs Dearborn. "My daughter! Do something!"

"He's trying to kill her spirit off!" cried Severus Snape. "There's no time to brew more Exorshnaps! We have five minutes to save her, not more!"

"How can we save her that quickly?" cried Mr Dearborn. "How can we remove the spirit so quickly?"

"It cannot be done," said Severus. "All we can do is remove any magic from her. Mr Slytherin is magical."

"But she would lose her magic, too?" asked Mr Dearborn.

"She would live," replied the portrait.

"You already know how to deal with a squib child," said Mr Malfoy. "I'd prefer my child being a squib over him dying and his body be kept alive by an intruder."

"Do it." Mr Dearborn sounded shaken, but determined. "Please!"

Dad confered with the portrait in Al's locket. Severus Snape told him the spell – a litany of rapid Latin – and then Dad cast it. Al could never remember the words. Alice's screams were too distracting. Dad looked pained. Normally, it would be considered a severe crime to extinguish a witch's magic, but it could not be helped.

When the last word had left Dad's lips, Alice fell quiet. She lay motionless for an instant and then she started shaking with sobs. Madame Slope hurried to cast several diagnostic spells on the crying girl. "Is Eric all right?" The question was asked so softly that the assembled witches and wizards nearly overheard it.

"Yes, child. Your brother is unharmed." Madame Slope smiled weakly.

The Dearborns knelt by Alice and embraced the girl.

"I need you as witnesses that he asked me to do it," Dad whispered to Mr Malfoy and Professor Slope. Both men nodded.

Two hours later, the group was to be found at the headmistress's office. Everybody was assembled around the coffee table. Two ministry officials wearing the typical robes of magical law inforcement stood in front of the fireplace while everybody else sipped tea.

"Is it true," asked the older of the two, "that you, Mr Dearborn, asked Auror Potter to extinguish your daughter's magic?"

The wizard, who was holding his daughter in a tight embrace, nodded. "It had to be done or her soul would have been killed. Slytherin would have used her body. I couldn't have stood it if her body would have lived on with her spirit gone. Mr Potter saved my little girl."

"It was my fault," hiccuped Mrs Dearborn. The witch was still very distraught. "If I had stayed back for a moment longer, Mr Potter could have banished the spirit and both my children had been safe. By trying to protect one child, I endangered the other. I was so foolish."

"It's nobody's fault but mine," Alice chimed in. "I believed him when he said he could give Eric his magic. I wanted my brother in my world so badly! It never occurred to me that I could be together with him if I just went to his world! Now we can be together, so I got my wish, if in a different way than I thought." She reached over to her brother and squeezed his hand. Eric smiled at her weakly. The young squib looked uncomfortable among so many magical people.

The ministry officials asked everybody who was present for their confirmation that Mr Dearborn had asked Dad to perform the spell. When every witness told the same story, the younger official wrote a report and had them sign it. Al was very nervous. This was the first time he had to sign an official document.

When the officials were gone, Dad hugged Al and thanked him for his cooperation with the potion. Then Al was sent back to his house.

-x-

Al slept in late the next day. When he woke, he found breakfast under a preservation spell on his bedside table. He propped up his pillow and put the tray on his lap.

"Ah, finally awake!" Scorpius entered the dorm when Al was halfway through his cup of tea. "Hurry up, mate! Everybody wants to know what happened! Juliet told Vern that Alice Dearborn didn't turn up for the meeting of the gobstone club! She thinks that that woman yesterday was Alice's mother."

Al spent all afternoon telling and retelling the story of Alice and how Bertie had tricked her. He was sad that the bottled wizard was gone. Bertie had been a nice guy, or so the boy had thought. In the evening he called Severus, because he felt he needed to discuss the matter with an adult.

"I'm sure he was nice enough," said the portrait. "But thousand years of isolation probably didn't leave his mind unaffected."

Al nodded. "There's one thing I don't understand," he sighed. "Why did he chose Alice? I was defenseless, just like she. Wouldn't he prefer a male body? Why did he go for the girl?"

Severus snickered. "I guess this was another wizard whose heart you won without trying. Salbert Slytherin knew a lot about mind magic. He must have known that the person he attacked would end up either dead or without magic, depending on whether anybody present knew how to kill him off. He wouldn't harm you. You saved him from the chamber. He must have been very grateful."

Al bit his lip. "I will miss him although he nearly killed Alice. Is that wrong?"

Severus tsked. "Even bad people need friends. That he did evil doesn't mean that you are bad. It's alright to miss your friend. It's alright to mourn him."

-x-

After the exams – Al did reasonably well – Professor Slope and the Slytherins put up a small memorial to Salbert Slytherin in a corner of the Common Room. It was not much, only a photo in a small frame.

Historians all over the magical world were looking for information on Salazar Slytherin's brother. Perhaps one day, there would be a real portrait of the forgotten co-founder. Until then the picture of the bottle would have to do.

-x-

End of year four.

Author's note:

There will, I hope, be more but I haven't written any of it yet. I'm still conferring with Fate what to throw at my favourite Potter next. The story will be continued as soon as we agree on something. It may take a little time though.

Meanwhile, you have time to leave a review. I did mention that I love reviews, didn't I?


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